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Louisville fans didn't disappoint on day two of the football team's open practices. Fans flocked to the practice field again to check out Teddy Bridgewater and company.
- The intensity was picked up a bit from both the coaches and the players. However, it was in different ways for the most part. The coaching staff had a much shorter collective temper with the young players as it was their second practice. The players on the other hand were jawing back and forth all over the field. Terrell Floyd vs. Michaelee Harris was my personal favorite.
- Charlie Strong and Vance Bedford both showed a different side when it came to veteran players. They both cut up with guys like Charles Gaines, Andrew Johnson, and Preston Brown. It's very obvious that the coaches are comfortable with the level of focus and intensity the returning players are showing. Things were much more loose than they were last year.
- Some of the younger guys that stood out:
Keith Towbridge - Got a step on linebackers and safeties all day.
Terrance Ross - Ross gets the gift and the curse of being the only newcomer at safety. He's getting tons of reps but his mistakes are more glaring.
James Quick - He's just flat out has more natural ability than most other people.
- If I were a betting man I would put money on Ryan Mack being the starter at right tackle this year. Jamon Brown has moved to the left side and Mack took every first team rep with Nacho Garcia running with the second team.
- The first team on both sides of the ball are pretty much set. Andrew Johnson and Jermaine Reve are battling for one corner spot, but both will play a lot and the tight ends will rotate a good amount. To me it seemed like the coaches are focused on coaching up the players that will add depth.
- Teddy looked off all day. He air-mailed a handful of passes to DeVante Parker and Damian Copeland. That didn't stop him from making sure that he talked with any receiver that may have not been as crisp as he would've liked on a route. He met guys like Quick and Gerald Christian at the line a couple of times to point out what they should have done.
- Gerod Holliman and Corvin Lamb would be the captains of the Practice All-Star teams. Both look so good at practice but never seem to see the field on game days. It is one of the weirdest things I've ever seen.
- Tommy Restivo has been very good on the recruiting trail this summer, but I really think that he is a great addition to a vital part of the defense. He didn't let a play go by without pointing out something to one of his safeties. That includes veterans Calvin Pryor and Hakeem Smith.
- Seriously, Charles Gaines doesn't stop talking. He backs it up, but it's nonstop.
- Michael Dyer had a couple of runs where he got outside and got to display some of his skill set. He has a different level of quickness than we are used to seeing (we've been watching power backs here for a decade). But I think he would need to do some other worldly things for the next few weeks to earn the top job.
- Former Heisman winner Eddie George stopped by to take in the practice today. He's absolutely enormous. George interviewed Senorise Perry and some of the other players earlier in the day.
- Will Gardner is starting to show what the coaches saw in him a couple of years ago. When he makes the quick/correct decision he looks like a big time quarterback. He throws a good ball with nice touch and has really nice footwork. The big positive is that he is making the quick/correct decision almost every rep he gets.
- Michaelee Harris did individual workouts today and wasn't limping from what I saw. He wasn't doing much explosion work, but when he ran sprints he eventually got to top speed and cut back across the field. Both good signs.
This was the most entertaining practice I've been to personally. Watching guys interact with fans and genuinely have fun was a great experience. I think Strong meant it when he said that he wanted his team to enjoy winning games. The veteran players are coaching each other as well as showing young guys the mistakes they're making. It made for a much more laid back atmosphere than we've seen in the past and I, for one, loved it.