Scripted Plays Gives LU at Look at the Future
4/1/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Liberty wrapped up the first third of its spring practice schedule, Thursday afternoon, as the Flames ran 96 scripted plays over a 75 minute period at Williams Stadium.
"For the most part, I would have to say that I'm pleased with what I saw," reflected head coach Danny Rocco. "Today was a series of first and second down situations that we covered during this 96-play scripted practice."
"For the most part, I felt the defense had a little more swagger out there," continued Rocco. "I think the defense made a few more plays than what we did on the offensive side of the field."
Following a warm-up period and several sets of drills, Rocco separated his team, with the offense heading to the west sideline and the blue-clad defense trotting to the east side of the field just a few minutes before 6 p.m.
Scrimmaging the same units against each other (first offense vs. first defense, second offense vs. second defense, etc.), the Flames seemed to evenly split up the 96 plays between run and pass calls.
Mike Brown was the leading rusher on the day, as the rising junior carried the ball 10 times for roughly 106 yards. His most promising run on the afternoon came late during practice, as the quarterback called his own number and got outside. After besting defensive back Ron Hobby, the 2009 Big South Offensive Player of the Year was in the clear until Rocco blew the play dead.
Korrey Davis and Chase Barnett followed behind Brown, each carrying six times. Davis rushed for 45 yards, while Barnett tallied approximately 55 yards. Both running backs closed with sizeable final carries, as Davis ran for 25 yards on a would-be touchdown run, while Barnett's final carry was for 20 yards.
Aldreakis Allen and SirChauncey Holloway, a pair of running backs who saw significant times as true freshmen last fall, both carried the ball five times. Holloway rushed for 24 yards, with most of his rushing attempts coming up the middle, while Allen got to the outside more and rushed for 19 yards.
Larry Claiborne had the best stop of the day on a Liberty running back, as the defensive back had just the right read on a ball carried by B.J. Hayes. He created a solid wall that stopped the wide receiver dead in his tracks on an end-around play.
When not leading the team in rushing attempts, Brown made wise use of his passing game. He finished the day 12-of-20 for 100 yards. His most pin-point passing play of the day was a 26-yard strike to Ervin Garner, as the redshirt junior was able to leap over Hobby defending on the play for the reception on the far side of the field.
Tyler Brennan and Brian Hudson took the snaps with the second and third teams, respectively. Brennan finished the practice session by completing 7-of-18 pass attempts for 43 yards, while Hudson completed 6-of-9 attempts for 43 yards.
Liberty's three quarterbacks completed pass attempts to 15 different players on the afternoon, led by Pat Kelly, who hauled in four receptions for 26 yards. Hayes followed with three catches for 17 yards, while Garner (39 yards), Chris Summers (17 yards), Greg Pratt (13 yards) and Allen (7 yards) each hauled in two passes.
Despite the defense controlling the scripted-play portion of practice, Rocco was pleased that his offense did not commit any turnovers, keeping up with last year's national-leading tradition. The Flames finished the 2009 season ranked No. 1 in the country in turnover margin (1.91) and No. 1 in turnovers lost (8).
The defensive spotlights came from all over the field, including a pair would-be sacks by Brent Vinson and a shared sack by Chad Brown and Terry Adams.
Liberty's defensive backs kept the Flames' quarterback from completing most deep passing plays throughout the afternoon, including pass breakups by Kyle VanDuser, Allen Powell and Chris Mayo. Powell's deflection was the most highlight worthy, as the redshirt freshman got in front of a Brennan pass attempt to Kyle DeArmon and was able to leap up and bat the ball to the ground.
Rocco called for a short session of special teams plays throughout the day, including the final five. The last was a crisp 39-yard field goal by Matt Bevins, a 2009 consensus first-team All-American kicker, who lead the country in field goals and field goal percentage.
Today's practice brought to a close Liberty's review of its first and second-down play calls, what Rocco refers to as his base offense and base defense. Starting tomorrow, the Flames will start to install third-down plays into their practice play, including third-and-long and third-and-short plays.
"Third-down football is really one-down football," commented Rocco when talking about tomorrow's practice. "When it is third down, it is totally a different game than when it is first or second down."
During tomorrow's practice, which kicks off at 4:15 p.m., Liberty will start to look at some of its specific third-down calls, including its nickel defenses packages, including blitz, pressure and zone coverages, while the offense will look to create some holes to move the ball downfield in those unique situations.
"For the most part, I would have to say that I'm pleased with what I saw," reflected head coach Danny Rocco. "Today was a series of first and second down situations that we covered during this 96-play scripted practice."
"For the most part, I felt the defense had a little more swagger out there," continued Rocco. "I think the defense made a few more plays than what we did on the offensive side of the field."
Following a warm-up period and several sets of drills, Rocco separated his team, with the offense heading to the west sideline and the blue-clad defense trotting to the east side of the field just a few minutes before 6 p.m.
Scrimmaging the same units against each other (first offense vs. first defense, second offense vs. second defense, etc.), the Flames seemed to evenly split up the 96 plays between run and pass calls.
Mike Brown was the leading rusher on the day, as the rising junior carried the ball 10 times for roughly 106 yards. His most promising run on the afternoon came late during practice, as the quarterback called his own number and got outside. After besting defensive back Ron Hobby, the 2009 Big South Offensive Player of the Year was in the clear until Rocco blew the play dead.
Korrey Davis and Chase Barnett followed behind Brown, each carrying six times. Davis rushed for 45 yards, while Barnett tallied approximately 55 yards. Both running backs closed with sizeable final carries, as Davis ran for 25 yards on a would-be touchdown run, while Barnett's final carry was for 20 yards.
Aldreakis Allen and SirChauncey Holloway, a pair of running backs who saw significant times as true freshmen last fall, both carried the ball five times. Holloway rushed for 24 yards, with most of his rushing attempts coming up the middle, while Allen got to the outside more and rushed for 19 yards.
Larry Claiborne had the best stop of the day on a Liberty running back, as the defensive back had just the right read on a ball carried by B.J. Hayes. He created a solid wall that stopped the wide receiver dead in his tracks on an end-around play.
When not leading the team in rushing attempts, Brown made wise use of his passing game. He finished the day 12-of-20 for 100 yards. His most pin-point passing play of the day was a 26-yard strike to Ervin Garner, as the redshirt junior was able to leap over Hobby defending on the play for the reception on the far side of the field.
Tyler Brennan and Brian Hudson took the snaps with the second and third teams, respectively. Brennan finished the practice session by completing 7-of-18 pass attempts for 43 yards, while Hudson completed 6-of-9 attempts for 43 yards.
Liberty's three quarterbacks completed pass attempts to 15 different players on the afternoon, led by Pat Kelly, who hauled in four receptions for 26 yards. Hayes followed with three catches for 17 yards, while Garner (39 yards), Chris Summers (17 yards), Greg Pratt (13 yards) and Allen (7 yards) each hauled in two passes.
Despite the defense controlling the scripted-play portion of practice, Rocco was pleased that his offense did not commit any turnovers, keeping up with last year's national-leading tradition. The Flames finished the 2009 season ranked No. 1 in the country in turnover margin (1.91) and No. 1 in turnovers lost (8).
The defensive spotlights came from all over the field, including a pair would-be sacks by Brent Vinson and a shared sack by Chad Brown and Terry Adams.
Liberty's defensive backs kept the Flames' quarterback from completing most deep passing plays throughout the afternoon, including pass breakups by Kyle VanDuser, Allen Powell and Chris Mayo. Powell's deflection was the most highlight worthy, as the redshirt freshman got in front of a Brennan pass attempt to Kyle DeArmon and was able to leap up and bat the ball to the ground.
Rocco called for a short session of special teams plays throughout the day, including the final five. The last was a crisp 39-yard field goal by Matt Bevins, a 2009 consensus first-team All-American kicker, who lead the country in field goals and field goal percentage.
Today's practice brought to a close Liberty's review of its first and second-down play calls, what Rocco refers to as his base offense and base defense. Starting tomorrow, the Flames will start to install third-down plays into their practice play, including third-and-long and third-and-short plays.
"Third-down football is really one-down football," commented Rocco when talking about tomorrow's practice. "When it is third down, it is totally a different game than when it is first or second down."
During tomorrow's practice, which kicks off at 4:15 p.m., Liberty will start to look at some of its specific third-down calls, including its nickel defenses packages, including blitz, pressure and zone coverages, while the offense will look to create some holes to move the ball downfield in those unique situations.
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