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Commodores Get Early Look in Stadium 3/18/2004
Commodores Get Early Look in Stadium Day 10 of Spring Practice — Head Coach Bobby Johnson gave his Commodores an early look at Vanderbilt Stadium Wednesday, putting the team through a two-hour, 20-minute practice on Dudley Field that included a lengthy scrimmage controlled by the defensive unit. The Wednesday practice marked the Commodores’ first appearance in Vanderbilt Stadium this spring. On Saturday, the Commodores will return to the stadium to hold their Black and Gold Scrimmage and practice, which begins at 2:00 p.m. It is free of charge to Commodore fans. The Commodores staged one of their longest scrimmages of the spring Wednesday. The session include 12 drives and nearly 60 plays. The Commodore defense looked impressive for much of the scrimmage. After a pair of first downs on the opening offensive possession, tackle Ray Brown (So., Jackson, N.J.) set the defensive tone by sacking quarterback Jay Cutler (Jr., Santa Claus, Ind.) to end the drive. The defense held their counterparts to just two first downs in the next six possessions while forcing a fumble recovery by Brown and an interception by cornerback Bill Alford (Sr., Brunswick, Ga.). The offense, under the direction of quarterback Steven Bright (So., Greer, S.C.), did put together multiple first downs late in the session and scored on a nine-play drive to end the scrimmage. “I was pleased as far as how the team was competing and how much effort I was seeing from the guys,” Johnson said. “The intensity was pretty good, and I saw some guys really competing out there. There were some battles going on.” In addition to Brown and Alford, several defenders stood out in the scrimmage. Defensive end Jovan Haye (Jr., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), linebacker Otis Washington (Jr., Saginaw, Mich.) and linebacker Jonathan Goff (R-Fr., Stoneham, Mass.) made jarring tackles early in the session while linebacker Curtis Gatewood (R-Fr., Memphis, Tenn.) and cornerback Dominique Morris (Jr., Nashville, Tenn.) ended drives with quarterback sacks. The offense started moving the first-down markers later in the practice. Bright hit wide receivers Lorenzo Parker (Sr., Farmington Hills) and Marlon White (So., Macon, Ga.) on first down plays to move the ball inside the 10-yard line, but couldn’t produce a touchdown after defensive end Greg Jacobs (R-Fr., Midlothian, Va.) tackled the quarterback for a three-yard loss. The next possession, directed by Cutler and keyed by 21-yard completion to Erik Davis (Jr., Nashville, Tenn.), also stopped at the 10-yard line when Alford deflected a Cutler attempt to White. Behind the rushing of Bright and tailback Ron Bullock (So., New Orleans, La.), the offense finally scored on its final possession, with Bullock going over from the 2-yard line. Smith, Buggs Back in Uniform Each participated in the position instruction and fundamental drills. Another Commodore coming back from injury, tackle Kenan Arkan (Sr., McMurray, Penn.) stayed active within conditioning workouts. Neither of the three are expected to participate in the Black and Gold Scrimmage. Wearing Gold Upcoming Practice Schedule |
