Only the first 20 minutes were open and at least a quarter of that was spent stretching. Not a lot of takeaways, but here were a few.
I saw Giovanni LaFrance walking out of the indoor facility I walked in. He has a soft cast on his right hand. He didn’t want to talk about the injury. He didn’t stay for practice.
The first team offensive line was RT Skipper, RG Rodgers, C Ragnow, LG Froholdt and LT Jackson.
The second team line was RT Merrick, RG Wallace, C Raulerson, LG Malone, LT Ramirez.
Cole Kelley is wearing No. 15. With his size and arm, you have to do a double take to make sure it isn’t Ryan Mallett.
Cole Hedlund was showing good leg strength on his kicks in the indoor facility. He booted a couple from 40-plus yards during the brief time I watched. Both would have been good from 50. None were contested.
Most practices are closed to everyone, including media. Last night’s was only open for 20 minutes. There is no access today and 20 minutes for media tomorrow.
There are scrimmages next Saturday and the following. Those have sometimes been open to fans, but I’m unsure whether they will be this year. Those announcements are typically made a short time before the practice, sometimes within about 12 to 24 hours.
Zach Rogers with the first team at right guard is the biggest takeaway of the day. I think his ability to learn everything and get it exactly right is what got him at that spot. He’s not very tall. He’s got short arms. But he’s one of those guys who maximizes everything he’s got. He’s got that fight in him that I love in an offensive linemen. He’s a physical dude. He reminds me a lot of Russ Brown. I loved Russ Brown. For those who don’t remember, he was a Danny Ford recruit from Bristow, Okla. He basically played for four seasons after a redshirt. I recall him best for decking a fan at Mississippi State who celebrated in his face as the teams were leaving the field. It was just a straight right. He probably should have gotten in trouble for that, but I loved it.
Brown was one of those guys who probably shouldn’t have been as good as he was. Classic overachiever with a great work ethic. I agree, Clay; I’m partial to kids like that, more so that really talented guys who aren’t as coachable. I still remember John Thompson making that same sort of comparison between Bo Mosley and a couple of our more highly-regarded DBs.