Fun Monday

Today's been a busy day with nearly the entire morning swallowed up by a long, tough practice, so I'll make this one brief, with apologies.

The "oooooo moment" of this morning's practice:

Richuel Massey breaking over the left side and bursting free down the sideline on a 65-yard run against the No. 1 defense. It will be interesting watching to see how Massey handles a heavier workload, because the way he's going, he's about to get it.

Close seconds:

1) Coach Stoker's tirade about disclipline after players committed two personal fouls in the first nine plays of the scrimmage. I don't know that I have seen him more irate on the field, and he did get the point across.

2) Mack Dampier bringing the hat, shaking off two blockers to tattoo Byron Lawrence on a "Student Body Sweep." One of the blockers was QB Germayne Edmond, who made a good effort, but was chucked aside.

3) Antonio Robinson -- no, not his 85-yard streak on a screen pass, which was impressive, but roughly a 17-yard run earlier in the practice. He showed a burst of speed that made me hopeful for more ...

4) The fiery leadership by senior Ray Martin. When the second-team defense was on the field early in the scrimmage, there wasn't the energy level apparent with the first team unit. Leave it to Ray, Mack Dampier and Big Al Smith to get things cranked up from the sideline. When heads were sagging as the team went through post-practice conditioning, there was Ray again, challenging and encouraging his teammates.

5) The very direct words from Demetrius Bell to his teammates, talking about responsibility, at the end of practice. Each day Stoker calls on a player and asks him to talk about his goals and his role on the team. It's a very effective tool.

OK, that was more than one runner-up, but I couldn't leave out any of them.

Enjoyed visiting on the sidelines with Coach Gene Knecht, and listening to him and Britt Brittain reliving demanding practices in their day in the 1970s. Britt told Coach he was really tough and Coach said he wasn't tough enough. He laughed but I think he was serious!

Doug Ireland, SID