March 19, 2007
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| “It’s funny to say, but it actually felt pretty good getting hit.” — Running Back Jeff Jennings (Photo by Stan Jones) |
On Campus in Nashville – Head Coach Bobby Johnson saw plenty to like and some things that need improvement during the Commodores’ first scrimmage of Spring Practice held Sunday afternoon in Vanderbilt Stadium.
Johnson put the Commodores through a 16-drive, 80-play scrimmage. The session featured five scoring possessions by the offense, including two that ended in touchdowns, and four drives that concluded with turnovers.
Afterward, Johnson said the scrimmage went about as he expected. “It was our first day of tackling, so we didn’t get perfection out there,” Johnson said. “And we didn’t expect it to be perfect.
“Overall, I saw a lot of good things. We had a bunch of guys playing hard and hitting hard. That’s my first impression. I’m sure we have a lot of things to correct, but we’ll look at the film to get a better evaluation. We’ll continue to work and hope to see improvements on offense and defense the next time,” Johnson said.
After staging five sessions during the first week of Spring Practice, the Commodores will take off Monday, then return to the John Rich Practice Facility on Tuesday afternoon. The team will stage at least one more scrimmage before the featured Black & Gold Scrimmage is held Saturday, March 31, in the stadium.
While several players appeared to impress the coaching staff, none made a bigger statement than junior tailback Jeff Jennings, who rushed for 32 yards on eight carries in his first full contact action since November 2005. Jennings, who finished the scrimmages with gains of 11 and eight yards, was happy to be back, competing on the field rather than watching from the sidelines.
“To tell you the truth, I’m just real happy to be out there,” Jennings said. “It’s funny to say, but it actually felt pretty good getting hit.”
Jennings made a quick impression, going over right guard for four yards and a short-yardage first down on the opening possession that resulted in a long Bryant Hahnfeldt field goal after senior linebacker Jonathan Goff and senior defensive end Curtis Gatewood made key tackles for loss.
After the opening 11-play drive, the Commodore defense clamped down. Sparked by several punishing tackles by sophomore linebackers Brandon Bryant and Patrick Benoist, the defense forced two fumbles and intercepted two passes in the seven possessions. Redshirt freshman end Kikko Logan took one of the fumbles 52 yards for a defensive touchdown, while sophomore cornerback D.J. Moore made an acrobatic interception over receiver Sean Walker. Sophomore safety Roger Herndon notched the second interception, diving in front of intended receiver Justin Green.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Funk guided the first offensive touchdown, directing the unit 30 yards on six plays. Funk connected with junior Chris Reinart for 12 yards and redshirt freshman Steven Goulet for six yards before redshirt freshman tailback Kennard Reeves pushed into the end zone from two yards out.
A quarterback sack by sophomore defensive end Broderick Stewart, third-down pass deflection by Moore, and a quarterback hurry by tackle Brandon Holmes stopped later offensive possessions.
Both units enjoyed success late in the scrimmage. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mackenzi Adams gave the offense its second touchdown, connecting on a 29-yard score with Bennett. On the final play, redshirt sophomore Darlron Spead stuck Gaston Miller for a four-yard loss on a fourth-down, red-zone play. Earlier in the session, Spead stopped another possession with an athletic play deflecting a pass over the middle.
Many of the veteran Commodores saw limited action. Redshirt junior quarterback Chris Nickson completed four of nine passes, and gained 37 yards running the ball. Adams was three of five passes, while senior Richard Kovalcheck completed five of 12 attempts. Funk hit on three of six attempts.
Besides Jennings and Nickson, Miller rushed for 32 yards on seven carries and Reeves finished with 35 yards on eight carries.
Defensively, Bryant, sophomore safety Brent Trice, redshirt freshman cornerback Alan Strong, sophomore linebacker Patrick Benoist and redshirt sophomore linebacker Chris Johnson all contributed four tackles.
The Commodores spent several periods working on the kicking game. Hahnfeldt was nine of 12 in field goals ranging from 30 to 45 yards.