Spring Football: 1st Impressions
After all the time spent rehashing so much of the same football info over and over, spring practice was finally here.
Fortunately I was able to witness the beginning of the Bobby Petrino Arkansas Era first-hand. And if I had to sum it up in one word, I think it'd be this: Intense.
I walk in to the 4:00 pm scheduled workout about 15 minutes early and they are already running team warm-up drills like boot camp. At first, I honestly thought the team was in trouble for something. That's what the mood was like.
And a painful touch on the end of some of these hardcore opening team drills was remaining in squat position at the end of them... *shudder*.
I also felt like when the teams broke off into their own position drills, there was so much more genuine focus. I've seen coaches from the previous staff bark orders regularly throughout a practice. Coaches anywhere in about any sport often do.
When this spring team went into specialized drills, it was almost like the coaches didn't have to. And I'm willing to bet it didn't start out that way when the new regime began overseeing off-season training.
For all the things I had read or heard about Petrino being a yeller/screamer, I didn't see all that much of it. He just left it to his brother and the other coaches.
Don't get me wrong. The man's obviously intense but I didn't come out of there thinking the guy's psychotic. (But then again, I'm not doing his workouts either...)
Watching some of the passing drills & plays from scrimmage, Burleson and I both agreed that Ryan Mallett may be the best think to happen to Casey Dick. That's with the assumption Mallett does have to sit out a year.
My reason being, good players can often rise to the occasion. In this case, rise to the competition. (BTW, Mallett definitely looks the part... the 19-20 year old kid is built like a Pro-caliber TE)
And if you just rolled your eyes, go look up his HS video at Allen, TX and tell me he isn't talented. That's how poor the previous system really was for developing quarterbacks.
The soap opera may be over finally with U of A football, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be interesting. With some luck, the growing pains the team goes through this season will hopefully pave the way for something special for many years to come.
Fortunately I was able to witness the beginning of the Bobby Petrino Arkansas Era first-hand. And if I had to sum it up in one word, I think it'd be this: Intense.
I walk in to the 4:00 pm scheduled workout about 15 minutes early and they are already running team warm-up drills like boot camp. At first, I honestly thought the team was in trouble for something. That's what the mood was like.
And a painful touch on the end of some of these hardcore opening team drills was remaining in squat position at the end of them... *shudder*.
I also felt like when the teams broke off into their own position drills, there was so much more genuine focus. I've seen coaches from the previous staff bark orders regularly throughout a practice. Coaches anywhere in about any sport often do.
When this spring team went into specialized drills, it was almost like the coaches didn't have to. And I'm willing to bet it didn't start out that way when the new regime began overseeing off-season training.
For all the things I had read or heard about Petrino being a yeller/screamer, I didn't see all that much of it. He just left it to his brother and the other coaches.
Don't get me wrong. The man's obviously intense but I didn't come out of there thinking the guy's psychotic. (But then again, I'm not doing his workouts either...)
Watching some of the passing drills & plays from scrimmage, Burleson and I both agreed that Ryan Mallett may be the best think to happen to Casey Dick. That's with the assumption Mallett does have to sit out a year.
My reason being, good players can often rise to the occasion. In this case, rise to the competition. (BTW, Mallett definitely looks the part... the 19-20 year old kid is built like a Pro-caliber TE)
And if you just rolled your eyes, go look up his HS video at Allen, TX and tell me he isn't talented. That's how poor the previous system really was for developing quarterbacks.
The soap opera may be over finally with U of A football, but that doesn't mean it's not going to be interesting. With some luck, the growing pains the team goes through this season will hopefully pave the way for something special for many years to come.
posted by John Laws at 8:14 PM
<< Home