“Well,” Doba hemmed. “I wasn’t too happy
with the intensity level today. I’m sure George Yarno is not happy with
his offensive line either. There were certain times when things picked up and
certain times when the intensity was low. You can’t have a bad day when it’s a
game day or there goes your season.”
Yarno was busy still chewing out his
offensive line as they ran extra lines after practice.
Doba may not
have been pleased with his team’s intensity level but that didn’t mean there was
a lack of highlights on the field Tuesday afternoon.
The Cougars
worked more on their short yardage letting the running backs see how much ground
they could chew up and passing for short and quick yards.
Defensive end D.D. Acholonu
impressed everyone watching when he intercepted a Matt Kegel pass with
one hand. Kegel had barely turned around all the way before throwing it right
into the monstrous Acholonu who was already in the air and came back down with
the football in his hand. Acholonu had little time to take a breath before the
rest of his teammates mobbed him as if they just clinched a Rose Bowl berth.
“That kid is
amazing,” said Doba. “He’ll be in the gym carrying 325 pounds on his shoulders
walking up the steps with the weights bouncing all around. Why, he was doing
that when he was just a sophomore.”
Of course Yarno was not impressed
with the effort from the offensive line on that play or many others. At one
point he singled out Billy Knotts when the right guard let the defense
blitz Kegel and force him into a bad pass.
“You’re
patting him on the head while our quarterback is getting sacked!” hollered
Yarno, following the 6-foot-7 Knotts until he got his point across.
Center Keola Loo fumbled
another snap, an issue that has raised concern.
But that’s not to say there was
nothing positive from the offense, QB Josh Swogger made a handful of
impressive plays, one an 8-yard zip to Jevon Miller and the other a rope
of a pass, on the run, up the sideline to Brett Johnson.
All three running backs - -
Jermaine Green, Jonathan Smith, and Chris Bruhn - - had
significant runs, but since the team can only hit and not tackle it’s hard to
say how those runs would pan out in a real game.
However, that is what the Cougars
plan to do tonight at 7:30 p.m. Doba wants to get a good look at some of the key
backups this season and players who may push for a starting position such as
Bruhn and middle linebacker Aaron Wagner.
“We want to
work the vets about 15-20 plays and then really take a look at the backups,”
Doba said.
All said and done Doba seemed
confident and pleased with what he has seen so far this fall.
“These guys
came into camp in such great shape we don’t need to get them in shape,” he said.
“We’re just trying to get them ready for the games.”
TEE
TIME
Doba also spent some time breaking
down the needs of special teams. He reported trying Drew Dunning on
kick-offs, but after doing so he missed a field goal for the first time.
“As good and
as accurate as he is at kicking those field goals we’d hate to do anything to
mess that up,” Doba said. “Plus if he’s kicking off that makes him free game to
be tackled by anyone on the field and we know he’s not the biggest
guy.”
Graham Siderius will handle the kick-off
duties.
MORE INJURY NOTES
• Besides the plethora of injuries we reported earlier today, there are others as well. Defensive tackle Josh
Shavies has been sitting practices out because he is sick; tight end
Jesse Taylor sat out with minor injuries; receiver Tramaine Murray
will likely miss the remainder of the week due to a bum knee.