March 23, 2007
On Campus in Nashville – The Commodore offense produced their most effective practice of spring drills Thursday, scoring a pair of touchdowns in five possessions during a 27-play scrimmage in Vanderbilt Stadium.
It was marked the second straight practice that Head Coach Bobby Johnson started individual and team drills in John Rich Practice Facility, then went into Vanderbilt Stadium for special teams’ work and the concluding scrimmage.
“That was another good one,” Johnson said afterward. “I thought our offensive guys really wanted to improve off the Tuesday practice. At the same time, our defense was going hard and making a lot of plays. We continue to get excellent effort from both sides of the ball.”
Redshirt junior quarterback Chris Nickson directed the offense to an eight-play, 70-yard touchdown drive on the opening possession of the scrimmage. After running for nine yards, Nickson hit junior receiver Bryant Anderson in stride for a 25-yard gain and connected with junior receiver Earl Bennett for short yardage. Three tailbacks – junior Jeff Jennings, sophomore Jared Hawkins and senior Cassen Jackson-Garrison – each had positive carries in the drive, with Jackson-Garrison capping the drive with a 12-yard rush over left guard.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Funk directed the offense across midfield in the second drive, aided by a 24-yard hookup with junior receiver Chris Reinart, but could not get into the defense’s 20-yard line. The next two drives were stopped by solid defense, with sophomore safeties Brent Trice and Joel Caldwell made big plays.
Senior quarterback Richard Kovalcheck guided the offense to a 50-yard touchdown drive to conclude the scrimmage. Kovalcheck hit sophomore receivers Justin Wheeler for 22 yards and sophomore Alex Washington for 23 yards before Hawkins scored with a 5-yard rush.
In a brief situational session before the scrimmage, Anderson and Bennett recorded touchdown catches on red-zone possessions. Sophomore cornerback Myron Lewis and Trice forced turnovers with interceptions, while redshirt freshman cornerback Marquez Hall deflected a deep end-zone pass attempt.
Custer Back Working With Offense
After experimenting on the defensive line for a week, redshirt sophomore Ryan Custer was back wearing a white jersey Thursday, working with the offensive line. Custer started four games as a redshirt freshman at offensive guard when Josh Eames was forced out of the lineup by injuries.
Former Commodore Coach Fred Pancoast Visits
Former Commodore Head Coach Fred Pancoast paid a visit to the practice, saying office employees were teasing him that a former Volunteer coach (Johnny Majors) made it to Vanderbilt’s practice before he could. The Nashville resident talked with Coach Johnson and several members of his staff before practice, then watched most of the session from the sidelines with former Vanderbilt play-by-play announcer Charlie McAlexander.
“I had to get out and see Coach Johnson and the guys, see how spring practice was going, ” Pancoast said. “The Volunteer fans in our office were giving me a hard time after hearing their former coach attended practice before I did. I just couldn’t have that. I really enjoy Coach Johnson, and admire how he works with these young men.”
Johnson is a big fan of the former Vanderbilt coach. Last month, Johnson was in attendance as Pancoast, a successful Nashville businessman and community leader, was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame, and was among the first to congratulate him after the ceremony that included fellow Commodore offensive line great Will Wolford.