A review of spring football practice No. 9
4/11/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 11, 2013
The University of Montana Grizzly football team held its second "Late Night" practice of 2013 spring drills Wednesday (April 10), with practice number 9 under the lights in Washington-Grizzly Stadium.
Coach Mick Delaney and his staff began the practice around 8:20 p.m. because many of the Grizzly players have a night class which lasts until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesdays. Practice was over at 10:45 p.m.
Wednesday's practice was similar to the one the day before on Tuesday, according to Griz head coach Mick Delaney, meaning it had a good intensity level, but lacked consistency.
"I thought we were really flying around and staying off the ground a little bit today, and looked better in some game-like situations, but again, we have some offsides, we have a fumble exchange, and those are the things discipline-wise that we have to really zero in on here in the next six practices - and we'll do that," Delaney said.
The players are gearing up for their big scrimmage of spring drills, which is this Saturday, April 13, in Ronan at the Laverne Parrish Memorial Field. Kickoff is slated for noon, with tailgate action starting at 10:00 a.m.
Tickets for Saturday's scrimmage are on sale at the Pheasant Lounge, Willard's, and Arnie's Gas and Tire in Ronan; Gull Printing, Lake Bar and Sportspage in Polson; Western Outdoors in Kalispell; and Reds Bar, Press Box, Stockman's Bar, and the GSA Office in Missoula.
"I am really happy with our overall progress this spring," Delaney said. "We added a lot of new wrinkles, especially on offense, and our guys have picked most of that up. We'll probably go an hour or so Friday (in practice), and I know our coaches and players are looking forward to going to Ronan and playing in front of the folks there."
The "Top 10" from practice #9:
1. In the "blitz drill" phase of practice sophomore linebacker Addison Owen (#49) had two sacks. Owen played in all 11 games last season and had 13 tackles.
2. Junior quarterback Jordan Johnson (#10) had several scrambles for gains of 10 yards or more, and once again looked sharp passing the football.
3. As chronicled in the Practice #8 review, Brett Kirschner (#4) continued to impress with his hard-charging running style and picked up yards and first downs in UM's situational drills. In 11-on-11 drills Kirschner had a 65-yard run for a touchdown, due in large part to a key block by sophomore tight end Aschan Richards (#89).
4. Junior wide receiver Mitch Saylor (#81) had several long receptions, including 20, 15, and 17 yards, and is a big target at 6-5, 222. Saylor is UM's second leading receiver, as last year he had 22 catches for 216 yards.
5. In the pass blitz portion of practice, both senior linebackers Brock Coyle (#56) and Jordan Tripp (#37) had two sacks each, as did sophomore send Tyrone Holmes (#91). Junior tackle Tonga Takai (#95) had two tackles for loss and a pass deflection.
6. Junior halfback (#26) Jordan Canada had an 18-yard TD run in the two-minute drill. Canada had numerous carries (as did Kirschner), including three of 15 or more yards, and also had a 20-yard reception on a screen pass from junior quarterback Shay Smithwick-Hann (#19).
7. Smithwick-Hann also had a nice 25-yard completion to junior wide-out Sean Haynes (#80), but then suffered back-to-back sacks by Coyle and Tripp, respectively.
8. Senior strong safety Bo Tully (#30) made a nice diving grab for an interception on a Johnson aerial in the late going. A couple of plays after the pick Johnson connected with sophomore wide receiver (#7) Ellis Henderson for a 34-yard completion. Henderson is the Grizzlies' leading returning receiver (23 for 360, 2 TDs).
9. The catch of the day was a one-handed grab by Canada, which was good for just 5 yards. The hit of the day was by junior cornerback Joshua Dennard (#14), who nailed sophomore wide-out Chase Naccarato on an end-around play.
10. In the practice-ending fourth quarter drill, the No. 1 held Johnson and the number one offense to -1 yards on three plays. The practice ended on a missed 47-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Chris Lider (#87), which was short.
GRIZ MISC. GRIDIRON NOTES: Talented halfback Travon Van did not practice because of an injury, and will probably not be able to play in Saturday's scrimmage.
There were just two QBs in action in the first part of practice, as sophomore Trent McKinney (#11) and redshirt freshman Brady Gustafson (#3) had to attend late classes.
The one area so far this spring that has been the most inconsistent is the kicking game. Early in practice on Wednesday, Lider missed a 35-yard field goal try (it was short), and then he missed the 47-yarder on the final play of the evening.
Sophomore Stephen Shaw (#88) averaged 45.6 yards a punt on seven attempts. Smithwick-Hann averaged 42.0 yards on four punts. Both Lider and Shaw were honorable mention All-Big Sky selections last season.
FUN FACT: Sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Kose (pronounced koe-say), is the nephew of Griz associate head coach and D-line coach Legi Suiaunoa. Kose, a 6-2, 230-pounder, transferred to UM from Palomar College, and redshirted last season due to a leg injury.
