COCKYTALK SPRING PRACTICE REPORT 4/10/14

[Spurticus]

Spring Practice 4/10/14: Practice number 13

Don’t have a lot to report on tonight. The practice was a light workout with the team in shorts and shirts with no padding except for the headgear. Basically it was just a walkthrough before the spring game Saturday afternoon. It was good to see David Williams back running position drills without the Yellow jersey tonight. David even got a couple of carries in the full team drills the guys ran to end practice. Pretty much everyone now is back with the team with the exception of Buster Anderson and Kane Whitehurst. I don’t expect David Will see a lot of action Saturday, but hopefully he’ll be able to get a couple of touches along with Mike Davis before ending the spring drills.

The team ran about 30 minutes of full speed position drills, then coach Spurrier spotted the ball at the South 3 yard line and got the first unit offense up against the first unit defense to run full team drills, going the length of the field. Dylan led the offense down the field, throwing some nice completions to Shamier Jeffery, Carlton Heard, and Jarrell Adams. There was a few nice defensive plays during the drive that stood out. Early in the drive, Dylan attempted a quick slant pass to Pharoh Cooper but Sharrod Golightly read it perfectly and stepped into the route knocking Cooper down before Dylan had a chance to see it. Thompson threw to the spot Coop would have been in, but there was no one to catch the ball. Not an interception, but a nice read by Golightly on that play. Dylan tried to go for the home run at one point throwing a Go Route to Drew Owens, but the play was snuffed out by Chris Moody form his Free Safety position. A near pick on that play, but Owens was able to at least keep Moody form making a clean interception and got a hand on the ball to prevent disaster there. Dylan was picked a few plays later when a deflected pass ended up in the hands of Jonathan Walton. The ball was spotted back at the line of scrimmage from the point it was at before the pick. Brandon Wilds and Rod Talley had about 3 carries each on the drive which ended in two consecutive completions to Matrick Belton, the second one was a strike on a corner route for six.

They put the ball on the 20 yard line going the other way with Perry Orth running the offense. He was able to move the ball from the 20 to the opposite (South) 30 with some nice throws to Jeffery, KJ Brent and Kelvin Rainey. There was also two nice runs by David Williams in this drive before taking a spot on the sidelines. The offense stalled somewhat on the drive, and coach Spurrier brought Dylan back in to clean it up. Dylan was again almost picked off when Jamari Smith deflected a post route intended for Matt Harvey, and Brison Williams made a dive for the batted ball, but was unable to come up with the pick. A couple of plays later, Thompson found Shaq Roland on a come back route in the endzone for six.

The last drive of the practice was spotted at the South 20 and Connor Mitch got a series to show his stuff. Connor’s first play was not good at all, as he telegraphed a throw intended for Pharoh Cooper, but it was picked off (didn’t catch the number), and taken back to the house for a pick six. Connor redeemed himself however, by going 5 for 5 after the pick throwing completions to Jeffery, a REALLY nice throw that hit Cooper over the shoulder in stride for a big pick up, and two completions on the drive to Kelvin Rainey. The first of his two was a really well run drag route, right after the pick six that gained about 20 yards with the catch and run. Rainey’s second reception was a practice ender, with a back corner fade route in the endzone from Mitch for the final play of the night.

Good work tonight form Shamier Jeffery and Shaq Roland. Connor looked very impressive after the first throw was picked, and Dylan Thompson recovered from a pick to lead the offense to two scores.

I won’t post a report on the spring game Saturday evening since the game is on TV for those who are not going to be at the game. Most everyone will get to see it at some point. I’ll do like a few others and post some comments about the overall spring drills for the last month sometime Saturday evening or Sunday Morning.

[ConwayGamecock]

Thanks for the report!

[bcolinc]

After seeing Joe Robinson and actually looking at him, I can see why our Special Teams unit has been lackluster the past few years. He, himself, looks "special"

[OldPat]

'Hark! Is that a heartbeat I hear?'

'No, just Spurt typing his latest report.'

'Don't think you understand. That's how he loves us.'

[snoopy]

Thanks Spurt for another good report.

[Gamecocks1137]

Is David Williams good for the spring game? I would love to see him run in the game.

[4gamecockfb]

Thanks spurt. Hope Dylan learns to be a little more careful with his passes before the season starts. Also was wondering what time and channel will the spring game be on?
Hope all of our guys stay healthy!!

[Garnet/Black Fan]

Originally Posted by 4gamecockfb

Thanks spurt. Hope Dylan learns to be a little more careful with his passes before the season starts. Also was wondering what time and channel will the spring game be on?
Hope all of our guys stay healthy!!

Noon, ESPNU

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by Gamecocks1137

Is David Williams good for the spring game? I would love to see him run in the game.

Coach Elliott said Tuesday evening that they were hoping to get Williams
a few Carries Saturday, but it would be a game time decision. ... Since
he carried the ball twice on that one drive, I'm willing to bet he'll see a
at least a couple of reps tomorrow. He didn't seem hampered by the
injury last week while he was running sprints and footwork drills with
Diaz and Washington, so I'm thinking he's near 100%

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by Garnet/Black Fan

Noon, ESPNU

^
What He Said

[Spurticus]

Originally Posted by 4gamecockfb

Thanks spurt. Hope Dylan learns to be a little more careful with his passes before the season starts. Also was wondering what time and channel will the spring game be on?
Hope all of our guys stay healthy!!

I think Dylan will be fine once he gets into actual games, and gets a few
reps under his belt. He's clearly the best of the group we have right now,
and with the exception of the pick and the near pick, he was throwing
well last night. ....... Got a big Oooo and Ahhh from the crowd, followed
by some applause during one on ones, when they were throwing from
the 25 toward the South Endzone ... Right before the drill ended, Thompson
threw a ROPE to Matt Harvey on a short post route. Harvey was
covered by two defenders, and Thompson had to put a little something
extra on his velocity to get it to Harv right under the goal post. He
ZIPPED it between the two DBs and right in stride and Matt came down
with it. .... Best looking pass of the night (in drills), and the reason I
personally think Dylan will get some attention from the pros next year.
The guy has a major league Arm. I would say that I think he'll throw a
few more picks than Shaw did, but I also think his Yards/Pass will be
better than Shaw's, and probably more overall yardage for the season.
He will take more chances with the deeper passes than Connor did
because of that velocity, and with the big risks, come the big rewards,
and the bigger mistakes. Overall, I think we are in good shape as long
as we can keep him healthy.

[4gamecockfb]

Originally Posted by Garnet/Black Fan

Noon, ESPNU

Thank you

[uscsandstorm85]

I hope we can get a few open practices in August to see who worked hard over the summer.