Tuesday Practice Kicks Off Week 3 for Liberty
4/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Following two days off for the Easter weekend, Liberty returned to the turf at Williams Stadium today, jumpstarting its third week of practice on Tuesday afternoon.
Battling near record high temperatures for this time of year in the Central Virginia area, the Flames took to the line on Tuesday afternoon for practice No. 8 of 15 this spring, with a starting temperature of 91 degrees under mostly clear and sunny skies.
"We got a lot done today and I was really pleased with my team's efforts on the field," commented head coach Danny Rocco following the two-hour workout that started at 5:15 p.m. "It was a practice that consisted of a lot of review. We had a first and second-down review period, plus we reviewed some of our third-down play calls."
Following the review periods that reinforced what Liberty had learned during the first half of the spring workout practice schedule, the old football adage of "football is a game of inches" was put to the test. The Flames held several different periods that focused on third-and-short and goal line play calls.
"The thing about today's practice that was a little different was we got into some live situations on short yardage, both offense and defense," continued Rocco. "Then we got into some live situations down on the goal line, and that really is the most physical football that you are going to play."
"Our kids knew this was on the schedule and I thought they came out with pretty good energy," added Rocco. "I was not positive about what I was going to get today, coming back from Easter and having Monday off from school. I was hopeful that they were going to come out here with good focus. It was 91 degrees when we started and this team really showed up to work. I'm hoping this can set a tempo and a tone for the second half of spring practice."
Following a day off on Wednesday for weight training and film review, the Flames will return to the field on Thursday for what Rocco refers to as the most "grueling part" of spring ball, the Thursday, Friday and Saturday practice run during the third week of practice.
Liberty will once again hit the field at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, followed by a 4:15 Friday afternoon workout. The Flames will then return to Williams Stadium on Saturday morning at 10:20 a.m., for their third practice in a 40-hour stretch.
Liberty already has completed two similar type practice runs during the previous two weeks. However, unlike the prior two weeks, Liberty will have its entire offensive and defensive play calls in play, creating a large amount of information for some developing players to take in.
Liberty will have several periods of live scrimmaging on Thursday, before installing its two-minute offensive and defensive plays on Friday. During Saturday morning's two-hour workout, Rocco will get to see all the facets of his potential playbook in play during a more controlled and organized scrimmage.
Following today's practice, LibertyFlames.com had a chance to sit down with Rocco and get his overall thoughts on what he has seen and is seeing from his more experienced players this spring:
"Defensively, we have a number of seniors. Usually you are going to expect leadership from those types of players and basically that is what we are getting right now.
"On the defensive line, we have three seniors who are getting a lot of playing time, with Daryl Robertson, Terry Adams and Pat Bannon. All three of those guys are better. They are committed and are playing with good energy this spring.
"The linebacker position with [Doncel] Bolt, [Kyle] O'Donnell and [Chad] Brown has three more seniors who have been in the battle two or three years in a row. They are having good springs and Kyle is the best that he has been since he came to Liberty.
"On the back end of this thing is Donald Manns and he is the senior and he is really having his best spring at playing corner. Plus, Danny Broggin has really been a spark out there for us since we moved him from a running back position to the defensive backfield.
"Offensively, the dynamics are totally different. The seniors who are practicing out here this spring are really guys who have had limited roles here in the past. Matthias Wrede at the tight end position, Soeren Wendland at tackle, Nate Revell is playing some fullback and Matt Camire is playing center – all these guys have been role players.
"We are still working our way through the offensive line with [Justin] Vargas and [Alex] Stadler on the shelf this spring. I would like to think that when they get healthy, we are going to have more than enough power, size and experience on the line to be good.
"Some of the others who are showing up on the offensive line are Stan Herring, who has come a long way in a short time, and Toney White is settling in to being a pretty good and mature player. Plus, Malcolm Boyd of the younger kids is really starting to come along.
"But offensively, it really does come down to our skill players, starting with Mike Brown. Mike is the heart and soul of this offense, as he does so many things out there. He is a spark for the other guys and he holds a lot of our team accountable on the field.
"Ervin Garner is really having a good spring. I feel with B.J. [Hayes], Chris [Summers], Jimmy [Eden] and Pat [Kelly] we are really solid at wide receiver. Out of that group, Ervin has been the guy who has made the most of his time this spring and shown the most improvement.
"The running backs are all solid, with Aldreakis Allen, SirChauncey Holloway and Korrey Davis, along with Chase Barnett. We've got skill and enough flash back there, but it is just a matter of being physical on the offensive line to create some holes for these guys."
Battling near record high temperatures for this time of year in the Central Virginia area, the Flames took to the line on Tuesday afternoon for practice No. 8 of 15 this spring, with a starting temperature of 91 degrees under mostly clear and sunny skies.
"We got a lot done today and I was really pleased with my team's efforts on the field," commented head coach Danny Rocco following the two-hour workout that started at 5:15 p.m. "It was a practice that consisted of a lot of review. We had a first and second-down review period, plus we reviewed some of our third-down play calls."
Following the review periods that reinforced what Liberty had learned during the first half of the spring workout practice schedule, the old football adage of "football is a game of inches" was put to the test. The Flames held several different periods that focused on third-and-short and goal line play calls.
"The thing about today's practice that was a little different was we got into some live situations on short yardage, both offense and defense," continued Rocco. "Then we got into some live situations down on the goal line, and that really is the most physical football that you are going to play."
"Our kids knew this was on the schedule and I thought they came out with pretty good energy," added Rocco. "I was not positive about what I was going to get today, coming back from Easter and having Monday off from school. I was hopeful that they were going to come out here with good focus. It was 91 degrees when we started and this team really showed up to work. I'm hoping this can set a tempo and a tone for the second half of spring practice."
Following a day off on Wednesday for weight training and film review, the Flames will return to the field on Thursday for what Rocco refers to as the most "grueling part" of spring ball, the Thursday, Friday and Saturday practice run during the third week of practice.
Liberty will once again hit the field at 5:15 p.m. on Thursday afternoon, followed by a 4:15 Friday afternoon workout. The Flames will then return to Williams Stadium on Saturday morning at 10:20 a.m., for their third practice in a 40-hour stretch.
Liberty already has completed two similar type practice runs during the previous two weeks. However, unlike the prior two weeks, Liberty will have its entire offensive and defensive play calls in play, creating a large amount of information for some developing players to take in.
Liberty will have several periods of live scrimmaging on Thursday, before installing its two-minute offensive and defensive plays on Friday. During Saturday morning's two-hour workout, Rocco will get to see all the facets of his potential playbook in play during a more controlled and organized scrimmage.
Following today's practice, LibertyFlames.com had a chance to sit down with Rocco and get his overall thoughts on what he has seen and is seeing from his more experienced players this spring:
"Defensively, we have a number of seniors. Usually you are going to expect leadership from those types of players and basically that is what we are getting right now.
"On the defensive line, we have three seniors who are getting a lot of playing time, with Daryl Robertson, Terry Adams and Pat Bannon. All three of those guys are better. They are committed and are playing with good energy this spring.
"The linebacker position with [Doncel] Bolt, [Kyle] O'Donnell and [Chad] Brown has three more seniors who have been in the battle two or three years in a row. They are having good springs and Kyle is the best that he has been since he came to Liberty.
"On the back end of this thing is Donald Manns and he is the senior and he is really having his best spring at playing corner. Plus, Danny Broggin has really been a spark out there for us since we moved him from a running back position to the defensive backfield.
"Offensively, the dynamics are totally different. The seniors who are practicing out here this spring are really guys who have had limited roles here in the past. Matthias Wrede at the tight end position, Soeren Wendland at tackle, Nate Revell is playing some fullback and Matt Camire is playing center – all these guys have been role players.
"We are still working our way through the offensive line with [Justin] Vargas and [Alex] Stadler on the shelf this spring. I would like to think that when they get healthy, we are going to have more than enough power, size and experience on the line to be good.
"Some of the others who are showing up on the offensive line are Stan Herring, who has come a long way in a short time, and Toney White is settling in to being a pretty good and mature player. Plus, Malcolm Boyd of the younger kids is really starting to come along.
"But offensively, it really does come down to our skill players, starting with Mike Brown. Mike is the heart and soul of this offense, as he does so many things out there. He is a spark for the other guys and he holds a lot of our team accountable on the field.
"Ervin Garner is really having a good spring. I feel with B.J. [Hayes], Chris [Summers], Jimmy [Eden] and Pat [Kelly] we are really solid at wide receiver. Out of that group, Ervin has been the guy who has made the most of his time this spring and shown the most improvement.
"The running backs are all solid, with Aldreakis Allen, SirChauncey Holloway and Korrey Davis, along with Chase Barnett. We've got skill and enough flash back there, but it is just a matter of being physical on the offensive line to create some holes for these guys."
Get To Know Liberty Quarterback Deshawn Purdie
Wednesday, May 13
Get To Know Liberty Running Back Jaylon Coleman
Thursday, May 07
Get To Know Liberty Defensive End Michael Floyde
Thursday, April 30
Get To Know Liberty Linebacker Deuce Spurlock
Friday, April 24