Finally back home and settled to bring you guys another practice report from Friday's session. It turned into a nice sunny day by 3:30 p.m. and it was good to watch the Commodores practice outdoors which made for an even better photo day for me (who's ready for the next photo gallery?). Anyway, here are a few notes to pass along from what I saw throughout Friday.
- Nothing really changed with the first and second team rotations today, I did notice Caleb Peart getting some reps at defensive end with the second team defense.
- Both Freebeck and McCrary once again had an even amount of snaps with the first team. McCrary seemed a bit shaky at times with his footwork in the pocket and not as accurate with his short and intermediate throws, so I would give the performance edge to Freebeck on Friday.
- Overall, practice was very festive and featured a couple of pushing and shoving matches between players. Things got a little heated late in practice between LB Harding Harper and freshman offensive lineman Justin Skule, both had to be separated by Derek Mason who promptly told both to hit the showers early.
- Kyle Anderton worked out with the running backs during individual drills today and lined up at fullback throughout the day. Jared Pinkney has been working with the tight ends the last couple of days in practice as well. Very impressed with both players' size and I think they will be very solid contributors on offense down the road.
- The offensive line looked very strong early on in practice during team drills, they opened up quite a few holes that Webb, Rivers, and Crawford promptly broke through. The defense did extract a bit of revenge, getting the better of the offense during the second stage of team drills later in practice.
- Oren Burks and Andrew Williamson each had an interception on the defensive side today. Mason noted after practice that he was impressed with the way the defense was creating pressure today and getting to the ball which created those turnovers.
- There wasn't a lot of downfield catches made today (there were a few thrown though), but the catch of the day belonged to tight end Nathan Marcus who extended his body to make a nice catch with a couple of defenders around on a sideline out route.
- Speaking of the receiving corps, I think Vanderbilt fans will like the playmaking abilities of Trent Sherfield. The sophomore is yolked up and has displayed some good hands and route-running ability the last couple of days of practice. He was very solid on Friday.
- The fast pace of practice continued today and it moved along quite well for the most part. There were about 2-3 instances where the offense had communication issues and didn't know where to line up. In those instances, head coach Derek Mason was on the mic stressing to the coaches that they needed to be quicker, faster, and more efficient in playcalling and personnel changes.
- Yes, Derek Mason is wearing a mic during practices and I think it's a great communication tool for everyone involved. The players interviewed after practiced said it took some getting used to, but it showed them that Mason has his eyes on everything especially when they get called out through the speakers.
- After a festive punt contest at the end of practice, running backs and special teams coach Charles Bankins had a little fun with the players and pumped out 20 push ups apparently due to the result of the punt contest. I'd give Bankins a B+ on his form and technique, but he managed to bust out 20 reps with relative ease. The players were standing around him counting out each rep. Afterwards, head coach Derek Mason said he had to support his coach and dropped down on the turf and pumped out 20 push ups of his own. The players and coaches had a lot of fun with it.
- Adam Butler talked with the media after practice and talked about James Dodson's strength and conditioning program being more suited for SEC football in terms of getting you stronger and ready to play at a high level. He said he sees himself as a defensive end primarily on defense, with the ability to switch to nose guard in the nickle or other situations.
- A lot of players on the defensive side of the ball noted that Mason has a very aggressive approach when it comes to his overall vision and playcalling as the defensive coordinator.
- Nothing really changed with the first and second team rotations today, I did notice Caleb Peart getting some reps at defensive end with the second team defense.
- Both Freebeck and McCrary once again had an even amount of snaps with the first team. McCrary seemed a bit shaky at times with his footwork in the pocket and not as accurate with his short and intermediate throws, so I would give the performance edge to Freebeck on Friday.
- Overall, practice was very festive and featured a couple of pushing and shoving matches between players. Things got a little heated late in practice between LB Harding Harper and freshman offensive lineman Justin Skule, both had to be separated by Derek Mason who promptly told both to hit the showers early.
- Kyle Anderton worked out with the running backs during individual drills today and lined up at fullback throughout the day. Jared Pinkney has been working with the tight ends the last couple of days in practice as well. Very impressed with both players' size and I think they will be very solid contributors on offense down the road.
- The offensive line looked very strong early on in practice during team drills, they opened up quite a few holes that Webb, Rivers, and Crawford promptly broke through. The defense did extract a bit of revenge, getting the better of the offense during the second stage of team drills later in practice.
- Oren Burks and Andrew Williamson each had an interception on the defensive side today. Mason noted after practice that he was impressed with the way the defense was creating pressure today and getting to the ball which created those turnovers.
- There wasn't a lot of downfield catches made today (there were a few thrown though), but the catch of the day belonged to tight end Nathan Marcus who extended his body to make a nice catch with a couple of defenders around on a sideline out route.
- Speaking of the receiving corps, I think Vanderbilt fans will like the playmaking abilities of Trent Sherfield. The sophomore is yolked up and has displayed some good hands and route-running ability the last couple of days of practice. He was very solid on Friday.
- The fast pace of practice continued today and it moved along quite well for the most part. There were about 2-3 instances where the offense had communication issues and didn't know where to line up. In those instances, head coach Derek Mason was on the mic stressing to the coaches that they needed to be quicker, faster, and more efficient in playcalling and personnel changes.
- Yes, Derek Mason is wearing a mic during practices and I think it's a great communication tool for everyone involved. The players interviewed after practiced said it took some getting used to, but it showed them that Mason has his eyes on everything especially when they get called out through the speakers.
- After a festive punt contest at the end of practice, running backs and special teams coach Charles Bankins had a little fun with the players and pumped out 20 push ups apparently due to the result of the punt contest. I'd give Bankins a B+ on his form and technique, but he managed to bust out 20 reps with relative ease. The players were standing around him counting out each rep. Afterwards, head coach Derek Mason said he had to support his coach and dropped down on the turf and pumped out 20 push ups of his own. The players and coaches had a lot of fun with it.
- Adam Butler talked with the media after practice and talked about James Dodson's strength and conditioning program being more suited for SEC football in terms of getting you stronger and ready to play at a high level. He said he sees himself as a defensive end primarily on defense, with the ability to switch to nose guard in the nickle or other situations.
- A lot of players on the defensive side of the ball noted that Mason has a very aggressive approach when it comes to his overall vision and playcalling as the defensive coordinator.
