Pat White
"Pat didn't do much today. He did a little more than yesterday. And tomorrow, he'll probably do a little more too. It's more precautionary than anything else."

Coach Rich mentioned that if Pat can't throw tomorrow, he'll limit the reps of Nate Sowers and Jarrett Brown, as they'll try to avoid the young guys throwing too much.

Funny answer to a question asking if this type of injury (muscle strain) is a nagging one... "I don't think. I don't know if I have had one. I guess you have to have one (muscle) to pull one."

Nate Sowers and Jarrett Brown
"I'm really pleased with the way they're progressing. They've shown some really good things at times, and they've shown rookie mistakes. But, I like those two. They're going to be really good players for us at some point... hopefully sooner rather than later."

Well, here's to hoping it's not too soon.

General assessment
"There were some pretty good things, and then there were some things that were ugly."

Coach Rich indicated the intensity was pretty good at times, but not great the entire practice.

"A lot of our young guys are still, I think, a little bit in shock with Division I football practice... the way you go from drill to drill and everything is filmed... there are eyes on your every move. Obviously a lot of guys aren't accustomed to that. But the rookies are adapting pretty well."

Injury updates
Dorrell Jalloh probably has another 4 to 5 days before his return. Morrty Ivy is just about 100%. He's still green shirted, but he's doing about as much as everyone else.

Picking up the pace
Last 15 minutes of practice went live. Steve scored 6 more touchdowns. Just kidding. First 10 minutes were live with what's called the "W drill"...

Offensive backfield
"Owen ran hard. Ed Collington is showing some good things running the football. That was encouraging."

Oddly, in my 2 days, there has been very little discussion of Steve Slaton. This is especially ironic considering Steve's heightened Heisman candidacy.

Rookie receivers
(Talking about Wes Lyons) "The one or two times he caught it... he made a couple of nice catches. I have to watch the film to see how he blocked. But, he's competing pretty good."

"I like John Maddox, too, the other freshman wide receiver. We hope that both of them can help us this year, but I think it's way too early to tell."

Other injuries?
Coach said a few minor dings, but nothing of note. He'll find out more, if anything, in the morning.

Left tackle?
"Well, Coach Trickett's experiment with Stanchek at left tackle... he and Damien Crissey are still battling that out. Ryan we know can play guard. I think Jake Figner has been pretty solid so far in camp on the other side. The biggest question mark for us is left tackle. If Damien can't do it, then either Bradshaw or Stanchek has to. So, we'll be a couple of weeks before we know that for sure."

"We're just trying to find the best 5 up front. And for us, in our scheme, there's a little difference between tackle and guard, but not a whole lot. Our offense is a little different than most people's. If you can play tackle, usually you can play guard, and usually vice versa as well."

Asked about any dislike of Coach Trickett's habit of switching guys around...
"Only if I thought they didn't know what the heck they were doing. In a lot of ways, it makes them learn more. It actually has helped us. Dan Mozes moving to center was an easy move for him mentally because he knew our offense. Eventually, you'd like for them all to know all 5 positions. Certainly our guard ought to know what our tackle is doing, our tackle ought to know what our guard is doing, our center has got to know everybody. I think they do a good job of teaching each other."

"Our guys are pretty good up front. They don't make a whole lot of mental errors."

Defensive backfield
"Our first secondary has been pretty solid. I think Quinton Andrews did some nice things today. I thought Larry Williams had a good practice from what I could see."

Today's performers
"As I mentioned, Ed Collington and Owen Schmitt both had good days. Jeremy Bruce has had a good camp... all five days so far."

The tight ends
"Well, we play them more than people think. We haven't thrown to them a lot... everybody wants us to throw it to them. But, first they've got to get open. Second, they have to be able to catch it. But, we have a lot of routes for them. They catch a lot in practice. We've got more routes for our tight ends now than we ever have."

Schmitt happens
"Most of the time when Owen Schmitt got the ball last year it was as a tailback, but if people want to count that as fullback carries in their fantasy football ventures... let them go ahead and do it."

"He's an outstanding football player and a great guy to be around. Still every day, he's trying to prove himself... which is what we want. Steve Slaton is the same way... and Pat and all those guys. That's why it's fun to be around them."

De-fense, de-fense, de-fense...
"Ham (Abraham Jones) is playing pretty good as well. We haven't gotten in our nickel and dime packages, where we play multiple DBs."

"Eric Wicks has become, as we thought, the leader back there in the secondary. We're pleased with his leadership, and Jay's leadership."

"Marc Magro was another guy today... every play on the inside, Marc Magro was making the tackle. Thankfully... because it didn't look like anybody else on defense was getting off the block with the second unit. Marc, for us, even though Jay may start, Marc Magro is a starter and we consider him as such."

Mike to Malik
"Mike (Lorello) was such a good football player... the guy that always made the big plays for us. It's hard to put a guy in that kind of category. But, Ridwan is a good football player... very, very solid, and has had a solid camp so far."

Experiment gone right
"I've been pleased the way Johnnie Holmes has come. That was a move we put out there at spur. It was more of an experiment in the spring, but now it looks like a permanent thing. Johnnie looks like he's running around in space pretty good right now."

Asked about Coach Nehlen's College Football Hall of Fame enshrinement on Saturday...
"He's probably going to miss a golf outing."

Holding the rope...
"The same suspects were there leading... Dan Mozes, Jay Henry, Owen Schmitt. I think the guys on defense, they look to a guy like Marc Magro who's always first in every drill and tries to make every play... he comes to work so hard. I think it's a great example for our young guys."

I'm playing in the Futures Tour Pro-Am tomorrow, so my lovely wife has accepted her first beat assignment. I'll do the write-up, as I truly fear she'll ask her perennial question about why they can't make football pants that don't show the jock strap lines. I really think she'd try to develop the notion of the jock strap thong if someone encouraged her.