Fall camp day #1 is in the books. Fittingly camp started on a chilly day with the occasional rain shower as the team went through drills.
During the warmup and stretching period, two voices could be heard over the music and the overall murmur of the group. JaMarcus Shepherd and William Inge could be heard hooting and hollering while high-fiving everyone in their path. During position group stretch Shepherd wished each cornerback good luck with a massive smile on his face.
The energy was high and the groups got to work on position-specific drills to get things started. Later in his press conference, Kalen DeBoer mentioned that the biggest difference between spring ball and fall camp was the efficiency of the practice because the players knew where to go.
The teams then sprinted to a quick 11-on-11 session where each quarterback was given one series. This round was won by the defense with the only offensive play of note being a 15-yard completion to Taj Davis from Dylan Morris.
The team then broke back into position-specific drills.
Quarterbacks worked with the receivers to work on back shoulder balls down the sideline and intermediate routes. Michael Penix, Dylan Morris, and Sam Huard took reps like a carousel. Two quarterbacks went at a time, one would throw the back shoulder down the sideline while the other in the intermediate.
The next session was 1-on-1’s between the defensive backs and receivers/tight ends. During this session the quarterbacks were crisp with no one in their faces, however, Morris was picked off by Tristan Dunn. A few standout route runners from this drill were Ja’Lynn Polk and Jabez Tinae.
Then the biggest portion of the 11-on-11 session began.
The 1’s on offense were:
Quarterback: Michael Penix
Running back: Wayne Taulapapa
Receivers: Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan, Ja’Lynn Polk
O-line: LT: Jaxon Kirkland LG: Troy Fautanu C: Cory Luciano RG: Henry Bainivalu RT: Roger Rosengarten
The 1’s on defense were:
DL: Tuli Letuligasenoa, Ulumoo Ale
EDGE: Jeremiah Martin, Braylen Trice
Linebackers: Cam Bright, Alphonso Tuputala
Corners: Mishael Powell, Jordan Perryman
Husky: Dominique Hampton
Saftey: Asa Turner, Alex Cook
The offense had more luck in this session with both the 1’s and 2’s able to move the ball down the field. The play of the session was a 45-yard touchdown pass from Penix to Polk who fought through a Mishael Powell pass-interference to reel the touchdown.
During the 2’s drive, Dylan Morris showed off his arm with some throws over the middle. He was in rhythm for most of his drives except the one interception from Davon Banks along the sideline.
After more position-specific exercises and a 7-on-7 scrimmage, practice ended with each of the three quarterbacks getting a chance to lead one more series. Penix finished off day 1 with an impressive 30-yard dart to Rome Odunze between the corner and safety for a touchdown.
Perhaps the star of the day was Giles Jackson. He was always able to find a soft spot in the defense. On the final play of the day, Huard connected with Jackson on a 10-yard cross–one of many plays by the Michigan transfer. Now Kalen DeBoer and the rest of the coaching staff will now retreat to the film room to break it all down, evaluate, and come up with a game plan for practice #2.
