Special teams come into focus at fall camp day 10
8/17/2016 12:37:00 PM | Football
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The Grizzly football team moved fall camp on to the turf inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Wednesday for the first practice since Monday's scrimmage, and the first practice of fall camp not held at the Riverbowl.
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As a reward for an overall strong team performance at the scrimmage and an effort to rest tired bodies, coach Bob Stitt cancelled Tuesday's practice, and used the time to take in the latest Jason Bourne flick with the players.
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The special teams unit was one of the bright spots in Monday's scrimmage, and they picked up where they left off in Wednesday morning's session. Tim Semenza and Brandon Purdy opened the practice with a series of booming field goals that pushed past the 40-yard mark, drawing cheers from the team.
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Special teams continued to be the focus, moving into punt unit work and capping off the session with kickoff coverage. The boots again looked strong, dropping kickoffs consistently close to the goal line.
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All together the team dedicated nine periods of practice to special teams, while the quarterbacks and offensive line drilled individual unit work.
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The receivers and quarterbacks spent the next three periods squeezing in as many route reps as they could before moving into a team run. The No. 1 unit was led by Brady Gustafson, while Chad Chalich and Reese Phillips split the remainder of the drives, still pushing to separate themselves and win the backup quarterback position.
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Former QB Makena Simis made a catch worthy of consideration for play of the day when he caught a pass from Phillips on a simple slant route. He then showed fast feet and great special awareness, making two defenders miss and sprinting into the open field for a would-be score.
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The two-and-a-half-hour practice wrapped up with a session of seven-on-seven passing, where the QBs once again split the reps, focusing on shorter quick-out routes.
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Today's top targets: Keenan Curran, Jerry Louie-McGee and Justin Calhoun continue to earn reps with the number ones, and continue to come up with big catches off clean routes to justify it. Simis saw increased action and true freshman Samori Toure continues to be a threat as well.
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Play of the day: Wednesday's play of the day goes to a different receiver however, one that had multiple balls thrown his way, and made the most of it at every opportunity. Samuel Akem, the tall, long, true freshman with size 4x gloves takes home today's play of the day. During the final seven-on-seven session of practice, Chad Chalich found Akem running an out route and threw a 35-yard bomb for the native of Broken Arrow, Okla. Akem got full extension and separation from his defender, leaping for the ball and getting both his toes down for the big gain.
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Next up: Coach Stitt has cancelled this afternoon's scheduled practice, instead opting for more time for the players to meet with their position coaches. The Griz will return to the practice field on Thursday and Friday mornings before holding the second scrimmage of fall on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 9 a.m. The second scrimmage is open to the public.
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This week's schedule:
Thursday August 18: 8AM: Pre Practice/Media
Friday August 19: 8AM: Pre Practice/Media
Saturday August 20: (Scrimmage 2) – 9AM: Open to public | Media Day
Â
The Grizzly football team moved fall camp on to the turf inside Washington-Grizzly Stadium on Wednesday for the first practice since Monday's scrimmage, and the first practice of fall camp not held at the Riverbowl.
Â
As a reward for an overall strong team performance at the scrimmage and an effort to rest tired bodies, coach Bob Stitt cancelled Tuesday's practice, and used the time to take in the latest Jason Bourne flick with the players.
Â
The special teams unit was one of the bright spots in Monday's scrimmage, and they picked up where they left off in Wednesday morning's session. Tim Semenza and Brandon Purdy opened the practice with a series of booming field goals that pushed past the 40-yard mark, drawing cheers from the team.
Â
Special teams continued to be the focus, moving into punt unit work and capping off the session with kickoff coverage. The boots again looked strong, dropping kickoffs consistently close to the goal line.
Â
All together the team dedicated nine periods of practice to special teams, while the quarterbacks and offensive line drilled individual unit work.
Â
The @VoiceoftheGriz catches up with R-Fr. Kicker Tim Semenza after the special teams shine in Monday's scrimmage. pic.twitter.com/HRMUZdd8Ex
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 17, 2016
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The receivers and quarterbacks spent the next three periods squeezing in as many route reps as they could before moving into a team run. The No. 1 unit was led by Brady Gustafson, while Chad Chalich and Reese Phillips split the remainder of the drives, still pushing to separate themselves and win the backup quarterback position.
Â
Former QB Makena Simis made a catch worthy of consideration for play of the day when he caught a pass from Phillips on a simple slant route. He then showed fast feet and great special awareness, making two defenders miss and sprinting into the open field for a would-be score.
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@CoachNiekamp and the @VoiceoftheGriz talk more special teams after today's #GrizFootball practice. #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/fp3CJvAByC
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 17, 2016
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The two-and-a-half-hour practice wrapped up with a session of seven-on-seven passing, where the QBs once again split the reps, focusing on shorter quick-out routes.
Â
Today's top targets: Keenan Curran, Jerry Louie-McGee and Justin Calhoun continue to earn reps with the number ones, and continue to come up with big catches off clean routes to justify it. Simis saw increased action and true freshman Samori Toure continues to be a threat as well.
Â
Play of the day: Wednesday's play of the day goes to a different receiver however, one that had multiple balls thrown his way, and made the most of it at every opportunity. Samuel Akem, the tall, long, true freshman with size 4x gloves takes home today's play of the day. During the final seven-on-seven session of practice, Chad Chalich found Akem running an out route and threw a 35-yard bomb for the native of Broken Arrow, Okla. Akem got full extension and separation from his defender, leaping for the ball and getting both his toes down for the big gain.
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@CoachBobStitt and the @VoiceoftheGriz recap Wednesday morning's #GrizFootball practice. #GoGriz! pic.twitter.com/dcDzVYCZX6
— UM Griz Football (@UMGRIZZLIES_FB) August 17, 2016
Next up: Coach Stitt has cancelled this afternoon's scheduled practice, instead opting for more time for the players to meet with their position coaches. The Griz will return to the practice field on Thursday and Friday mornings before holding the second scrimmage of fall on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 9 a.m. The second scrimmage is open to the public.
Â
This week's schedule:
Thursday August 18: 8AM: Pre Practice/Media
Friday August 19: 8AM: Pre Practice/Media
Saturday August 20: (Scrimmage 2) – 9AM: Open to public | Media Day
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Players Mentioned
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