March 27, 2007

So spring practice opened up for Liberty tonight. My observations this time around will focus on the offense.

Quarterbacks: On offense, Brock Smith worked with the first team and made a number of good throws. He did overthrow a few receivers in drills but generally looked very solid. Spencer Landis looked very solid as well, hitting a couple nice passes down the side. Tonight was my first look at Mike Brown, the QB recruit who redshirted last season. There were a couple things that impressed me tonight. First, was his poise in the pocket. He stood in very well and didn’t let the chaos faze him. On his last play, he showed off his mobility, eluding defenders and making about a 15 yard run on the right side.
Running Backs: Rashad Jennings was his usual self, slashing for big gains in 11 on 11 and showing why he was one of the top RBs in the Big South in 2007. Wes Cheek had a couple nice runs as well. An interesting sight was BJ Hayes working with the RBs and Danny Broggin working with the WRs (more on that later). I talked to Paul Carmany at the practice, and he told me that Hayes is listed as the #2 behind Zach Terrell at the A-Back position instead of Danny Broggin. Also, Derek Bishop did most of the work with the first team offense and he looks like the starting fullback this spring. Other RBs practicing were Osita Ofuani, Shay Nicholson and Terron Lawrence. Joey Sandvig also saw time at fullback. Zach Terrell, the #1 at A-back, saw a couple plays in the backfield, but spent most of his evening with the WRs like Broggin. Also seen working with the running backs was Alphonso Wells, who joins the team from Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, VA.
Wide Receivers: Even with the graduation of Wynton Jackson and Brandon Turner, the cupboard is by no means bare at WR. First team receivers look to be Jonathan Crawford and Dominic Bolden, with Chris Summers (who is wearing #1) and Eugene Rogers working with the second team. Matt Lambros had a few nice catches as well as freshman Mark Blakeney and Aaron Hughlett, both freshmen who joined the team mid-year (Hughlett also runs track from what I was told). James Forystek also showed some good hands as well on the evening. Danny Broggin, who was listed as the #2 A-back behind Zach Terrell in 2007 spent the evening working with the WRs, as apparently he will be shifting to that position on a more permanent basis in 2008.

Tight Ends: Corey Rasberry, who redshirted in 2007 as a senior, enters the spring as the #1 TE. Right behind him, and also showing some good hands, was Will Quarles. Thomas Shaver also made some very nice plays on the evening. The redshirt freshman at 6’6” could see some time in short yardage and goal line situations.

An interesting observation from tonight...

A number of players had new numbers when practice kicked off. Chris Summers had #1 (previously worn by Wynton Jackson), Eugene Rogers wore #3, Rashad Jennings wore #23 (worn by Larry Claiborne last year), and Mike Connolly wore #11 (previously worn by Stevie Ray Lloyd). a number of other players had different numbers but I could not get their names. Look for a more in depth list of player number changes in a future blog.

Tomorrow I’ll focus on the defense and special teams.

Fanning the Flames,
BJ Williams