Pat Norton is used to banging his head into things ““
usually linebackers.
But last season, he seemed to be banging his head into
walls.
The junior fullback, who had been the No. 3 prospect at his
position in the nation coming out of high school, was the likely
starter as a sophomore in fall camp. He had backed up Ed
Ieremia-Stansbury and Matt Stanley and seemed the logical
successor. Then he sprained his ankle.
“It was the first scrimmage after summer, our first day
back from hell week. I was starting until then. It was real
disappointing,” Norton recalled.
After recovering for three weeks, he could play but was not at
his best.
“Things kind of went downhill from there,” he
said.
Combination tailback-fullback Manuel White started five games at
fullback, but struggled with his own injuries. The other eight
games, the offense started in double tight end or three wide
receiver sets, and depended on true freshman J.D. Groves to back
White. On the year, Norton did not have a single reception and only
two carries.
This spring, he’s taking advantage of a clean slate with a
new coaching staff.
“There is a lot of offense that our fullback has to
understand,” head coach Karl Dorrell said. “He’s
not only in the backfield. He is motioning and doing a lot of
things out of the backfield. He has been able to keep up with the
way we are teaching.”
Norton sat out Tuesday’s practice with a headache,
although he does not have a concussion. He had a solid practice the
day before, making a nice catch-and-run in the wet weather that
turned Spaulding into a slip-n-slide. For a guy who did not have a
single reception last season, it looked like he had made a
change.
“I don’t know to tell you the truth, because
I’ve always been working my tail off,” Norton said.
“But now I’m getting a little more
instruction.”
“He’s a die-hard football guy,” friend and
former teammate Matt Kocher said. “I’m surprised he
hasn’t played yet.”
Many people have been curious about the state of the running
game after last season’s tailback-by-committee saga turned
into the Mighty Mouse show when sophomore Tyler Ebell exploded for
203 yards at Oregon State and finished the season with second-team
Freshman All-America honors.
“They are learning something completely different.
We’re asking a lot of them. So it ain’t gonna look
pretty at the beginning,” running backs coach Eric Bieniemy
said.
The run game of the new offense is supposed to be more
aggressive. Ebell sees himself holding his own as a starter. Akil
Harris had the longest run anyone had seen from him in some time
during Tuesday’s scrimmage.
White, who averaged 14 yards per catch and 4.5 yards per carry
last season, will still play fullback and tailback. However, his
tailback duties thus far have been limited to short-yardage
situations.
So while White, Norton and Groves are focused on helping each
other learn the new offense right now, they are also competing for
the starting job.
“For everybody there has been a transition with a new
offense, new terminology, and new coaches,” tight ends coach
Gary Bernardi said. “I think Pat’s done a really nice
job with the transition. Now, he’s got to prove it on the
field.”
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The Bruins suffered their first serious injury Tuesday when
sophomore defensive tackle C.J. Niusulu was carted off the field
after suffering a knee injury during a scrimmage. He is currently
second on the depth chart behind senior Ryan Boschetti.
Junior wide receiver Craig Bragg sat out most of Tuesday’s
practice with a bruised thigh and junior safety Ben Emanuel missed
Monday’s practice with a strained back muscle.
“Everybody is getting sore right about now,” Dorrell
said.
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In case you were wondering about those nifty retro-looking navy
and gold “Bruin Club” jerseys, they belong to the
winners of the off-season conditioning drills. The team of
linebackers ““ senior Brandon Chillar, junior Tim Warfield,
junior Ben Lorier, sophomore Steve Seigel, and freshman Shane Gates
““ won the most competitions.
“Those were the guys who set the example of what we are
trying to accomplish here. They have done everything right,”
Dorrell said. “That is why they were the inaugural group who
got to wear these jerseys.”
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The secondary had a rough day Tuesday and sophomore tight end
Marcedes Lewis capitalized with a jump-ball touchdown in the
end-zone. The two-sport athlete showcased his basketball skills by
reverse dunking the football over the goalposts in celebration.