March 24, 2011
On campus in Nashville – James Franklin prepared his Commodores for their first spring scrimmage with a two-hour workout Thursday afternoon that featured full-contact segments monitored by Southeastern Conference referees.
Franklin’s staff continued to expand the playbook, work on fundamentals and stress conditioning Thursday, as the squad approaches its initial scrimmage, scheduled for Saturday in Vanderbilt Stadium.
Throughout the session, the head coach saw an energized Commodore squad. “Our attitude has been great and continues to be,” Franklin said.
The Saturday practice, which starts at 10:15 a.m., is open to Commodore fans. Gate 2 at the stadium will open at 9:30 a.m. Franklin does not plan to open another practice until the team holds its featured Black and Gold Spring Game on Sunday, April 17.
After the Thursday practice, Franklin told media members his staff was still introducing new offensive and defensive schemes to the squad.
“We’re still trying to lay the foundation, and just get a better feel for who we are. Then, we’ll start to focus on improving what we can do what we can do well during the second half of spring ball,” Franklin said.
SEC referees participated in much of the session, watching for potential alignments and infractions, and are scheduled to work the scrimmage. “It’s important to have their input on things we are doing and areas where we need to work on,” Franklin said.
Johnson Watches Practice
Former Commodore head coach Bobby Johnson made his first appearance of the spring, decked out in gear from the 2008 Music City Bowl. He watched for more than an hour from the sidelines, then spoke to numerous coaches, players and staffers afterward.
Other visitors
Sean Walker, one of the heroes from Vanderbilt’s Music City Bowl win over Boston College, also watched the session.
Another keen observer was Jim Pry, the father of new Commodore co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Brent Pry. Coaching is in the Pry genes – Jim has more than three decades of collegiate experience, having recently served as offensive coordinator at Dartmouth and offensive assistant at Illinois.