The pads are on and the hitting begins on Day 5

I took a couple of baby steps on Wednesday morning when I quietly arrived at Fisher Stadium for the first day of full-pads practice for John Garrett's Lafayette football team.

I took a seat at the top of the home grandstand (in the shade), sitting with a couple of guys who played football for the Leopards during my first go-around as the team beat writer -- in the late 1960s-early 1970s under Harry Gamble and Neil Putnam. Jack Bourger and Phil Noto are now two of the most interested alums.

I just wanted to see for myself what was taking place. No Morning Call story to be written, so I didn't look to interview anyone when the session was over. I just wanted to look.

Here are a couple of quick observations.




Sophomores Sean O'Malley and Cole Northrup and freshman Troy Fisher seemed to be the top three quarterbacks during most of the drills, but when the two-hour practice was concluded with a short "live" session, Fisher got no snaps. The third quarterback to play in the session was sophomore Reed Aichholz

Troy Fisher (black jersey) gets some early work.

Fisher was featured, however, on a piece of  interesting video footage in which offensive coordinator-quarterbacks coach John Van Dam flipped one football after another to him -- six in the space of eight seconds -- and he had to deliver quick passes. He wasn't perfect, but he didn't drop a ball. And because we didn't get to watch any of the other QBs work the same drill, it's impossible to say where he stood. I was impressed and wondered if that is a daily drill.   

The quarterbacks, of course, couldn't be hit, but they would have been sacked several times if they had been live. O'Malley is definitely No. 1, and he looks bigger than a year ago. On this day, he didn't show anything different from what he showed a year ago. In fact, despite the fact that the passing game is no longer new to any of the QBs and most of the receivers, there were no surprises. I could be wrong, but I don't recall seeing one pass to a tight end down field. Lots of short stuff. I can only hope it's only a matter of time.

The running back spot had its problems Wednesday. Mike Dunn walked the sideline will a foot in a boot. And Selwyn Simpson participated most of the day, but not in the scrimmage. He stood with Dunn.  With those two out, the No. 2 spot Wednesday seemed to belong to J.J. Younger, a sophomore speedster who didn't play as a freshman. He may be lightning quick, but he's listed at just 5-8, 165 and we have no idea yet about his durability. Start C.J. Amill is only 5-9, 180.

Perhaps the biggest concern of the day was for offensive guard John Burk, who had a pulling assignment on the first play of the scrimmage, on which linebacker Mike Root stopped Amill for no gain..Burk got caught up in the pile and didn't get up. I have no idea whether it was a big deal or not, but it was not what the Leopard line needed. Burk didn't play last year because of another injury, but he had already moved into a starting slot and was impressing some of the other practice-watchers.

Matt Fiume and Sean O'Malley work on snaps.

I do know that when the practice ended and nearly everyone had gone to the locker room, freshman OL Matthew Fiume (6-3, 250) stayed on the field to work with quarterback O'Malley on center snaps -- both types. I wondered if that meant the coaches were thinking about moving Kevin Zataveski, who has played almost everywhere, from center to guard if Burk had to miss some practice. It will bear watching.

The defense seemed to be short-handed again, with only 29 players in white jerseys. Major Jordan, who didn't practice on opening day, was back at full go Wednesday. However, veteran corner Eric Mitchell had a blue jersey and didn't participate in the hitting segments of the practice. Several other players were in blue as well.

The star of the defense for the day was freshman d-back Romeo Wykle, who had three interceptions at different times during the two hours. During the final hitting session, the white-shirted guys on the sidelines easily won the support-the-troops battle, cheering wildly for their guys.

Another really positive thing was the punting of Parkland grad Jacob Bissell. He hit it high and long almost every time, with the balls usually traveling 60-65 yards in the air. With last year's punter, Michael Turk, having left the team (he's one of four punters on the roster at Arizona State), Bissell will be a key player. He's listed No. 1 on the depth chart for all three aspects of the kicking game,  He's a senior now, so this is his time to deliver on he promise he brought with him in 2015. He was second  team all-league as a freshman but hasn't reached that level since. Last year he was hurt in the first game and never got back.

This was just one day. It was a hot one and the kids undoubtedly felt that in full gear. They'll adjust to that, and I'm sure the coaches will have some things to address after the hitting sessions. Stay tuned.

The big guys -- the offensive linemen -- meet after practice.

 

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