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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Offense Shines In Wednesday Practice
8/9/2006 | Football
OXFORD, Miss. - The Ole Miss Rebel football team continued pre-season drills on Wednesday afternoon with a two-hour session in helmets and shoulder pads in the blazing heat at the practice fields adjacent to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Particularly impressive in the fifth day of practice was the evolution of the passing game with junior transfer quarterback Brent Schaeffer and the offensive line.
"I thought Brent worked really well in the pocket toward the end of practice and made some big plays scrambling in third-down situations," said head coach Ed Orgeron. "We tried to four-man rush him and he's difficult to four-man rush. We tried a bunch of blitzes and he picked them up well. He really had a good day today."
Orgeron also noted the big guys up front.
"The offensive line had a good day of protecting."
The Rebels' young defensive linemen also continue to impress the coaching staff and have earned more practice time already in the fifth day of practice.
"Marcus Tillman and Kentrell Lockett both had a lot of snaps with the first team today and did very well," Orgeron said.
With all the buzz surrounding this year's incoming class, there are some veterans holding their own during the early days of practice.
"Michael Oher is having a fantastic camp," Orgeron noted. "Another guy who's coming along is Quentin Taylor. We made the switch moving Garry (Pack) back to Sam and Quentin back to Will linebacker. We feel like we filled a hole there. Quentin has come to play. He knows he has to compete to earn a starting spot. Trumaine McBride had a wonderful day today. He and Nate Banks are very confident about their abilities at corner. Chris Bowers is doing fine. He gained some weight, has gotten bigger. He's had some good days at practice."
Because of the large number of newcomers in 2006, there has not been a significant amount of movement within the depth chart after a week of training. Orgeron commented about the depth chart on Wednesday:
"There's been nothing significant to talk about. We're really taking our time with that because of the installation and all the new guys. We just don't want a lot of moving around from practice to practice."
A particular battle for playing time has been in the special teams, regarding the Rebel place-kicking duel between Joshua Shene and Justin Sparks.
"I think it's going to come down to those two," Orgeron said. "I don't want to limit us, but I think that's what we are looking at.
"(Sparks) has really gotten stronger. He's gotten in the weight room. When he came to us (last year), he wasn't as strong as he should have been. He's a little more mature. You can see that he wants to be here, he's competitive and he likes being here."
Signees are not the only newcomers hitting the Rebel practice fields, as there has been a flurry of walk-ons taking part in pre-season drills.
"Yesterday we had some defensive linemen that came alive, especially Garrett Ryan," Orgeron noted. "I think our staff has done a tremendous job of bringing walk-ons in here. We have some guys that can play. Some of them will play on special-teams, some of them might play for us on the field. We're going to be able to build an outstanding scout team, and some of the guys I believe will eventually earn a scholarship."
Ole Miss will go through the first day of two-a-days on Thursday as the team continues to prepare for the Sept. 3 opener against Memphis in Oxford.
Particularly impressive in the fifth day of practice was the evolution of the passing game with junior transfer quarterback Brent Schaeffer and the offensive line.
"I thought Brent worked really well in the pocket toward the end of practice and made some big plays scrambling in third-down situations," said head coach Ed Orgeron. "We tried to four-man rush him and he's difficult to four-man rush. We tried a bunch of blitzes and he picked them up well. He really had a good day today."
Orgeron also noted the big guys up front.
"The offensive line had a good day of protecting."
The Rebels' young defensive linemen also continue to impress the coaching staff and have earned more practice time already in the fifth day of practice.
"Marcus Tillman and Kentrell Lockett both had a lot of snaps with the first team today and did very well," Orgeron said.
With all the buzz surrounding this year's incoming class, there are some veterans holding their own during the early days of practice.
"Michael Oher is having a fantastic camp," Orgeron noted. "Another guy who's coming along is Quentin Taylor. We made the switch moving Garry (Pack) back to Sam and Quentin back to Will linebacker. We feel like we filled a hole there. Quentin has come to play. He knows he has to compete to earn a starting spot. Trumaine McBride had a wonderful day today. He and Nate Banks are very confident about their abilities at corner. Chris Bowers is doing fine. He gained some weight, has gotten bigger. He's had some good days at practice."
Because of the large number of newcomers in 2006, there has not been a significant amount of movement within the depth chart after a week of training. Orgeron commented about the depth chart on Wednesday:
"There's been nothing significant to talk about. We're really taking our time with that because of the installation and all the new guys. We just don't want a lot of moving around from practice to practice."
A particular battle for playing time has been in the special teams, regarding the Rebel place-kicking duel between Joshua Shene and Justin Sparks.
"I think it's going to come down to those two," Orgeron said. "I don't want to limit us, but I think that's what we are looking at.
"(Sparks) has really gotten stronger. He's gotten in the weight room. When he came to us (last year), he wasn't as strong as he should have been. He's a little more mature. You can see that he wants to be here, he's competitive and he likes being here."
Signees are not the only newcomers hitting the Rebel practice fields, as there has been a flurry of walk-ons taking part in pre-season drills.
"Yesterday we had some defensive linemen that came alive, especially Garrett Ryan," Orgeron noted. "I think our staff has done a tremendous job of bringing walk-ons in here. We have some guys that can play. Some of them will play on special-teams, some of them might play for us on the field. We're going to be able to build an outstanding scout team, and some of the guys I believe will eventually earn a scholarship."
Ole Miss will go through the first day of two-a-days on Thursday as the team continues to prepare for the Sept. 3 opener against Memphis in Oxford.
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