March 18, 2016
On campus in Nashville — The pads were popping early and often Friday as the Commodores staged a 90-minute session.
Head Coach Derek Mason introduced the practice contact before the sun rose over campus, putting the squad through a 10-minute Oklahoma Drill to open the workout. Later, the Commodores focused on 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 drills, special teams, position fundamentals and red-zone production.
The Commodore offense enjoyed one of its best sessions of Spring Ball, utilizing a balanced attack behind a confident line corps bolstered by the return of three key contributors.
Mason was impressed afterward, praising the unit’s run production and pass efficiency.
“Our offense did a great job and put a lot of stress on our defense,” Mason said. “We battled on defense, but I’m really proud of the strides our offense made. They got better today.
“It was a physical practice, with guys working hard on both sides of the ball to move the line of scrimmage. We just have to keep making the most of each opportunity we have left this spring,” Mason added.
During the 11-on-11 periods, quarterbacks Kyle Shurmur and Wade Freebeck frequently hooked up with receiving targets, including wideout C.J. Duncan, tight end Jared Pinkney and running back Khari Blasingame. Two other backs, Dallas Rivers and Josh Crawford, contributed several positive rushes in the team drills.
On defense, linebackers Zach Cunningham and Charles Wright registered turnovers: Cunningham recovering a bobbled handoff and Wright picking off a tipped pass. Several other defenders, including defensive linemen Adam Butler and Dare Odeyingbo, and linebackers Nigel Bowden and Jordan Griffith, contributed impressive stops.
Improved depth behind Webb
After having limited running back depth in 2014 and 2015, four prospects have shared repetitions in Spring Ball looking to take some workload off two-year starter Ralph Webb.
With Webb kept out of contact drills Friday, Rivers, Crawford and Blasingame impressed coaches with productive, determined rushes. Crawford was a frequent visitor in the defensive secondary, showing speed to go the edge on off-tackle carries, and nifty feed to elude defenders on interior rushes. Rivers and Blasingame offer a new dimension to the Commodores, bringing athleticism and power to the offense. A fourth candidate, redshirt freshman Jaire George, also has flashed ability during spring drills.
“We’re just scratching the surface with those guys. All of them are doing good things. I was impressed with Josh, Khari and Dallas today,” Mason said. “We’re going to be deeper and more stout, with the ability to rotate a bunch of guys with Ralph.”