The grass was greener on the other side.
Literally.
At new head coach Karl Dorrell’s first spring practice,
new sod gleamed at Spaulding Field and its freshness seemed to rub
off on the players.
Perhaps showing off for Bruin fans in the stands at spring ball
was like preaching to the converted. But for anyone who saw the
Bruins stumble through the first day of spring practice last year,
new head coach Karl Dorrell looks like a miracle worker.
With all four quarterbacks throwing at once in drills, no one
stood around, and when a player loafed after catching a pass, he
was quickly reprimanded.
“We started out slow but we got them going,” Dorrell
said. He stood back and watched all afternoon, barely uttering a
word.
“My plan is every day to evaluate as we go.”
He was particularly impressed with sophomore Tyler Ebell who
appeared to be in game shape, junior Craig Bragg, and sophomore
Jarrad Page who made plays in a new defensive system.
“It’s a lot faster than last year, we’re going
for up-tempo,” Bragg said. “You’ve gotta prove
you can be the man. The backups are trying to take the
starters’ jobs.”
Despite the fact that Dorrell watched quietly, the players
described the new staff as more enthusiastic and less laid back
than last year’s.
Although redshirt freshman Glenn Ohaeri was expected to contest
junior Matt Clark for the corner spot vacated by Ricky Manning, he
was moved to strong safety.
“Glenn is an excellent football player and we thought it
was a good spot to get him in our defense,” defensive
coordinator Larry Kerr said, noting Ohaeri will also play
nickelback.
Clark played with the first team at corner, but redshirt
freshman Jebaius Brown and sophomore Marcus Cassell also showed
talent.
Kerr will also have to find a new linebacker and choose between
the experience of senior Dennis Link or the raw talent of redshirt
freshman Justin London.
“Link is probably one of the most instinctive linebackers
I’ve seen. London is probably our next star at middle
linebacker,” junior corner Matt Ware said. Ware put on weight
in the off-season, bulking up to 215 pounds, but still looks
agile.
Sophomore quarterback Matt Moore, on the other hand, looked his
usual slender self, although he put on 10 pounds in the off-season,
as he and his slightly shorter, stockier counterpart, sophomore
Drew Olson, battled with sophomore John Sciarra and redshirt
freshman Brian Callahan at quarterback.
“We’re focusing on learning, not competition,”
quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Steve Axman said.
“Our theme offensively is quantity of quality. We want
quality, and a lot of it.”
The staff is installing a pro-style west-coast offense with less
play action and more short, quick passes than last year. The young
quarterbacks all seemed excited about the change.
“There is a lot more hustle, more discipline, more
intensity,” Olson said as he came off the field.
An energetic Olson then moved on to a group of television
cameras ““ today’s practice saw more media attention
than nearly all of last spring ““ and spread the faith.