Aug. 10, 2016
On campus in Nashville – The Commodores pushed through their most demanding day of camp to date on Wednesday, practicing nearly three hours in their first two-a-day session.
The Commodores started the day indoors, concentrating on scheme installation, conditioning and special teams in a practice that began at 6:30 a.m. The squad then returned practice in the heat of the afternoon, practicing 90 minutes in full gear outside at the John Rich Practice Facility.
Afterward, Head Coach Derek Mason said the Commodores got plenty accomplished in each session.
“Overall, we got a lot of good work done,” Mason said. “This morning, the guys came out and really got after it. It was a good, crisp session – offensively, defensively and on special teams.
“Then, the (afternoon) practice was more about team work. We’re in full pads, it’s hot and get about 4-5 periods in and realize that 5-6 more to go. The mental part starts to kick in there and really want to see how guys push through the adversity. I thought we did a pretty good job with that.”
The Commodores will be back to work for practice No. 8 Thursday afternoon, then are scheduled to have another two-a-day session on Friday.
Some highlights from full-pad 11-on-11 drills
The Commodores closed the afternoon practice with an 11-on-11 “thud” team drills that featured contact but limited tackling. Some of the highlights include:
• Kyle Shurmur (Jr., QB) opened the team segment with a big play, connecting with C.J. Duncan (Jr., WR) on a deep crossing route.
• Charles Wright (R-So., OLB) broke through two blockers to tackle Josh Crawford (So., RB) for no gain. Wright’s effort stopped what looked like another big gain for the offense.
• The defensive front brought lots of pressure on Shurmur and Wade Freebeck (Jr., QB) through much of the session. Among those forcing quick throws were Jonathan Wynn (R-Jr., DE), Landon Stokes (R-Jr., OLB), Ja’karri Thomas (Sr., ILB) and Oren Burks (R-Jr., Star).
• Freebeck hit Bailey McElwain (Fr., FB) for a 25-yard gain on a deep sideline route.
• Emmanuel Smith (Jr., safety) reacted quickly to a sweep, tackling the running back for a loss.
• Freebeck and Trey Ellis (Jr., WR) connected on a 40-yard touchdown pass late in the session, with Ellis making an acrobatic grab in the end zone.