Scrimmage recap

Although we the media only got to see eight plays of Saturday night's opening scrimmage of the fall (rapper Luther Campbell and about 300 other guests got to see it all), Randy Shannon and his players shared some of the highlights from it with us after it was over (CLICK HERE FOR THE AUDIO).

> Shannon said the team had a situational scrimmage focusing on the two-minute drill and said he rested a lot of his veteran guys. "We treated it like it was a preseason game," Shannon said.

"The quarterbacks looked good," Shannon said. "They didn't turn the ball over. So, that was good. When you don't turn the ball over you have an opportunity to win the game. Those guys did a good job with that and we're excited about that."

Offensive tackle Jason Fox said the quarterbacks didn't show any timidness. "They've always seemed comfortable since camp started," Fox said. "I haven't seen any timidness. They don't act scared at all."

Fox said there were several presnap penalties, though, in the red zone that killed offensive drives.

"We had I think two jumps before the snaps and a couple of other penalties, where we had receivers lined up on the line or tight ends, I don't know the exact call, but they pushed us pack," receiver Kayne Farquharson said.

> Shannon said running backs Javarris James and Graig Cooper didn't participate in more than 5 to 10 plays, giving senior Derron Thomas most of the work.

"Derron Thomas did a lot of good things tonight. He ran the ball well, caught the ball well, protected well, he's the guy that stood up in the run game," Shannon said.

> The offense scored two touchdowns and made two of three field goal attempts according to coaches and players. Shannon praised the play of the tight ends, estimating that they made about five catches.

> Freshman receiver Davon Johnson had the highlight of the night, going skyward and pulling in a touchdown pass over two defenders on about a 20-yard pass by Robert Marve. "My job was to block the safety and get about two steps in front of him and about two steps up the field," Johnson explained of his touchdown catch. "Robert Marve threw the ball and then I made a big play. It was like a jump ball and I took it off one of the defenders heads and took two steps into the end zone."

> Chris Zellner scored the other touchdown on a short pass from Jacory Harris.

> Shannon said the receivers "caught the ball well pretty decent, not well." And he estimated about two drops including a big play in which tight end Richard Gordon was stripped of the ball by safety Ryan Hill. Gordon supposedly made up for it with a nice 15-20-yard catch down field. "It was unbelievable," Shannon said.

> Defensively, the Canes didn't create any turnovers, but Shannon said there were about four sacks. Players told us redshirt freshman Adewale Ojomo (READ HIS STORY) had two of them. Freshman defensive tackle Micanor Regis and sophomore Joe Joseph also supposedly had a sack.

Fox said the offensive line did a good job but that "we need to focus on picking up run blitzes better." He said Orlando Franklin replaced the injured Chris Barney with the first team. "But I know A.J. Trump got some reps there in the too," Fox said. "They were trying some guys at new positions. Matt Pipho even played some left tackle today. And he did real well from what I've seen. Coach Stoutland is just trying to get a feel for everybody is at."

> Shannon told reporters defensive tackles Marcus Forston and Antonio Dixon and safety Anthony Reddick will be back at practice Monday. "The other guys are still rehabbing and stuff like that," Shannon said, likely referring to defensive ends Eric Moncur and Allen Bailey. "When they come back they won't be full go. Eric will probably do some things Monday, but he won't be all the way to toe. He'll be eased back into it."

> Kicker Matt Bosher said he connected on a field goal within 35 yards and attempted and missed a 54-yard field goal. Walkon Alex Uribe also connected on a 38-yard field goal. Jake Wieclaw made an extra point.

"I just kept it out a little bit left and it didn't come back in for me," Bosher said of the miss.

> Cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke said he thought he had a good day with a few tackles and a pass breakup. He talked about Hill's strip on Gordon and a tackle made by Carlos Armour on Daniel Adderley. "I think our secondary is getting real physical," DVD said of the DBs.

DeMarcus said he was with the ones and twos along with Bruce Johnson, Chavez Grant and Brandon Harris. The safeties were Randy Phillips, Joseph Nicholas, Ryan Hill and Lovon Ponder.

Comments

[Cane360]

Cool.

[The Believer]

Thanks Manny, worth the wait! Go Canes!!!

[1caneinatl]

manny,

thanks for the update. glad to hear that we have a receiver who will go up and fight for a ball for a change.

keep it coming!

[Cane360]

Thanks Manny! Waited for this all night. Things are coming together and I love the younger guys getting reps. I do not mind the older guys getting rest on the sidelines. If we had FSU the first game, I think things would be a little different. This way, everybody is getting reps. Are you ready for some football?!?!?!!!!!!!

[AngryCane]

Manny...

Thanks again brother for all your hard work.

GO CANES

[M.H.]

Keep it coming..

[THE DUDE]

Manny -

any news on the other freshmen waiting from the clearing house??

[5AND7SUX]

SO MANNY, WHEN DAVON JOHNSON TOLD YOU HOW HE SCORED HIS TOUCHDOWN, WAS HE LISTENING TO HIS I-POD, BECAUSE HE SURE DID A LOT OF "TWO-STEPPIN'". AND WAS LUTHER "1ST" AMMENDMENT" CAMPBELL REALLY THERE MANNY, OR WERE YOU BEING SARCASTIC, OR WERE YOU SPEAKING TO YOURS TRULY...YOU KNOW...SUBLIMINALLY? AND SPEAKING OF LUKE MANNY, WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO DO AN INTERVIEW WITH MR.MIAMI HIMSELF...HUH MANNY? YOU'RE NOT A TRUE CANE BEAT WRITER IF YOU DON'T DO AN INTERVIEW WITH LUKE MANNY. SO UNTIL THEN, YOU'RE NOT OFFICIAL BABY, GET ON YOUR JOB BIG DAWG. AND ONE MORE THING, WHAT'S UP WITH "COOKIE" BUCHANON, I DIDN'T SEE HIS NAME AMONGST THE DBS?

[canesncowboys]

thanks Manny ......

[86Cane]

Thanks for the update Manny!

GO CANES!!!

[canesrule]

"you meant florida international's finest" - going greengo

No, I meant Duhhhhh U's finest. As in 99% of their fans who never stepped foot on campus, couldn't pass the GED, and can't speak proper "American".

GRINGO EBONICS

"That BOLDS well for two young guys IMparticular" - Duhhhhh U

HEAVY PRINT FONT & INSTANT MESSAGING

[cj]

Manny great stuff dude!!! Great to see Randy and staff along with the young and older players putting things together. Did Cannon Smith and Taylor Cook get any reps? And from what you have seen do we look more like a spread team, a power running team that throws off of playaction or a combo of both? Basically what do you see our offensive and defensive idenity being? Keep the news coming!!! Just 18 more days!!!!!!!!!

[Tococane]

Canesrule has been voted off the island

[Montreal-Cane]

Coommon Manny stop the bull and report bthe facts... if not just tell us you don't know

[Montreal-Cane]

Taylor Cook deserves a redshirt and a chance to be the starting qb in 2009...
That's coaching!

[Montreal-Cane]

Manny not much about the srimmage...Ok

Who's in and out who are the recruits who didn't get in....Tell us about Yonder...
stop that... if he comes back 50-50...
Manny you have some smart ass here...no way stop that bull...If Yonder comes back you are a genius but stop the bull... he is not coming back unfortunaely...

[HCanes1]

Manny,

Please excuse the ignorance of these people! Thanks for the updates on practice, what Montreal-Cane needs to understand is that media is not granted access, you we already know that you aren't going to see everything, some of it will be word of mouth!

And as for 5AND7SUX, I agree with you that Manny meeting up with Luke would be a great interview and provide some insight. But, to say that he isn't the REALIST Miami beat writer because of it, go grab another bag of crack... or read some Isreal "Mr. Irrelavent" Gutierrez. It's all the same!

Keep doing what your doing Manny! Nothing but respect. Go Canes!

[DAU]

5AND7SUX, Agree 100%. The official theme song for the Canes for the 2008 season is "I Put On(Remix)" with Jeezy, Kanye, Lil' Weezy, and Rick Ross!

[Canes'97]

"HEAVY PRINT FONT & INSTANT MESSAGING" - Canesrule

PROVE IT ON THE FIELD

[DAU]

Florida State RB Smith leaves practice because of dehydration

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State running back Antone Smith, the team's leading rusher last season, left practice early Saturday because of dehydration.

Team officials said he was expected to return Monday.

After playing behind Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker his first two seasons, Smith rushed for 819 yards and three touchdowns as Florida State's featured back in 2007. He entered fall practice as the starter but is expected to face competition from junior college transfer Tavares Pressley.

Pressley, who rushed for more than 800 yards and 11 touchdowns at El Camino (Calif.) Community College last season, has missed the first three practices waiting for eligibility clearance from the NCAA.

Saturday's practice closed with a fight between defensive tackle Budd Thacker and offensive lineman Will Furlong. The altercation grew to include center Ryan McMahon and linebacker Kenny Ingram.

"I don't like to see fights," coach Bobby Bowden said. "I'm glad they are feisty, but we ain't got time to wait on them to get through fighting."

[DAU]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Texas A&M head football coach Mike Sherman announced that sophomore receiver Roger Holland (Houston, Texas / Cypress Falls HS) will redshirt in 2008 as he recovers from the effects of a concussion suffered during spring drills. Holland contributed as a rusher, receiver and return man as a true freshman in 2007. He scored the Aggies’ lone touchdown against Kansas on a spectacular 32-yard catch last season.

“Roger was the victim of a concussion during the spring,” Sherman said. “We had him visit with some doctors, and he was a little fuzzy there for a while. He will return to (active status) next spring at some point. He’ll work as one of our young coaches during the season, and he is a part of our team but he’ll be an active player in the springtime. But no sooner because we’re not going to mess around with head injuries.”

[DAU]

COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Sherman was asked if the Aggies were going to use the screen pass, which was a staple for the Green Bay Packers’ squads that he coached from 2000-05.

“If we can, we'll run it every play… screens come down to the quarterback and timing,” Sherman responded. “If you have a quarterback who can get the ball there, find those tight spaces without getting the ball knocked down or sacked, then you’re a good screen team. We had a good one in Green Bay obviously. A lot of it is dependent on the quarterback and his timing between him and the running backs. Certainly the linemen have to block and the rhythm of the play is important, but I think they can be great plays for us and all of our backs are pretty good at it.”

[DAU]

WACO, Texas- Head coach Art Briles put his Baylor squad through its first scrimmage of the fall Saturday morning on the Baylor practice fields, what he termed a "half scrimmage" that followed an hour-and-a-half of practice.

The scrimmage, which lasted a little over one hour, was highlighted by a 56-yard touchdown scamper by true freshman quarterback Robert Griffin that drew loud applause from the fans in attendance. It was the first of three touchdown plays on the day, followed by a 44-yard scoring pass from senior transfer Kirby Freeman to junior David Gettis and a 28-yard TD throw from senior Ryan Roberts to true freshman Terrance Williams.

On making a decision on the quarterback position:
"There probably is a point (when a decision needs to be made) but we don't know when that point is. In the season you get ready in three days and we have got 20 or more practices until Wake Forest. We feel like time is not a pressing matter right now."-Baylorbears.com

What was the point of transferring if your gonna be a back-up anyways?

[DAU]

Shows just how bad of shape we were in last year. We were starting a QB that couldn't even start beat out a true freshman at Baylor. Nice recruiting Larry.

[M.H.]

Good info DAU!!!

Manny...How's my boy Streeter doing? I know he's behind the guys, who came in early...but 6'5"...200+lbs and 4.5 speed.

[DAU]

Charleston Southern has a clock in their locker room counting down to the start of their game against us. Pretty positive thinking considering they went 1-3(5-6) last year and are picked to finish next to last in their conference this year. They have 4 Pre-season All-Conference guys........there's 5 teams in their conference though:)

http://csusports.athleticsite.com/sport.asp?sportID=6

[DAU]

Bad news for the Blue Devils

August 10, 2008 7:28 PM

Just when it seemed as if things might be looking up for Duke ...

Senior running back and leading rusher Re'quan Boyette underwent orthoscopic surgery on his left knee Sunday morning and will be out indefinitely, the school announced today. Boyette was injured during Duke's 80-snap situational scrimmage on Saturday evening.

Boyette led Duke in rushing in each of the past two seasons, and his 1,072 career yards rank seventh among active players in the ACC. He has played in 33 career games with 10 starts, and rushed 251 times for 1,072 yards (4.3 ypc) while catching 30 passes for 140 yards. Boyette has five career touchdown runs and owns the 10th-longest rush from scrimmage in Duke history with a 78-yard run against Florida State on October 22, 2005.

[DAU]

Sorry for jammin the forum today fellas, just thought this blog needed some updates on the teams we're facing this year. Sure as hell beats posts from "Canesfool", and G86's constant promotion of his site!

[nu-sens]

Naw DAU...let the band play it...imagin the brass section goin off with it and if the fans wanna chant the hook...cool...but just imagine the band playin it and them boys runnin thru the smoke.

[tunadoctor]

5AND7SUX = five and seven sucks is an idiot. He is lucky that we live in a place that allows such ignorance to be heard.

Who cares about Luther Campbell in the Sports section. That should be in the music section.

[Canesjunkie]

I've heard Luther Campbell on the sports radio....he's actually great. Dude knows a lot about football, especially UM.

[canestool 1 sinking ship]

Lucky that such ignorance be heard? Should he move to China? His opinion annoys you so he's an idiot? That makes YOU an idiot. His Campbell references go right over your inflatable helmet wearing head. Maybe the whole internet should be censored? Or at least some cane homer should flag anti-cane statements on this blog. Think before you type Einstein.

Typical cane fan post: Type, post, think.

[Steve B]

Have to wonder about a Gayturd fan who always reads the Cane blogs. He is nervous about the Canes and this is the way he makes himself feel better.

[scUMsanitation]

Manny,

Could the media-blackout on the CANES have anything to do with the fact that Randy knows this team is BAD ??

I think you are talented writer, actually you must be, you were educated by the school across town.

If we gonna keep it real here, let's get serious about expectations. You've said it before, .500 is the goal for this team.

Kirby and Kyle were "all world " coming out of HS, and so are Jacory and Robert...Do you really think these kids can put this team on their back and live up to the hype of expectations from this town ?

Randy cannot have the media all up in his team during the summer stirring up trouble on which kid will lead this team to a 2 win season. Just not fair, give the CANEs a couple years.

- Miami Dade College Cane Alum (LOL - that's about 90% your fan base)

[Cavaleer]

Scum, I know you're not the Scum from Canespace. If you are, ignore the rest of this post.

You're clueless and dumb if you think Kyle and Kirby was all-world. Kyle was all-world for northern California but we all know how that worked out. Kirby was simply way out of his league, mentally and physically. He had his one moment when it mattered and for that we'll always give him a little love.

Jacory and Marve are already better than K&K were after five years.

Furthermore, if you would exercise your literacy and read a little, you'd discover Shannon has acknowledged exactly this fact in his interviews.

And in case you didn't notice, we have a very, very big game on 9-6.

The less your opponent knows about you the better you are.

Why do you think Oscar Meyer closed his practices indefinitely last week??

You must have gone to FSWhooo??

[M.H.]

Not everything is racism Cav.....lol

[M.H.]

Good News-

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Florida starting receiver Louis Murphy and backup cornerback Markihe Anderson suffered injuries over the weekend that will keep them out of practice until later in the week.

Murphy suffered a sprained right ankle and Anderson suffered a sprained right wrist. Murphy was wearing a protective boot on his foot and Anderson had a soft cast on his wrist Monday, but UF coach Urban Meyer said the injuries aren't serious and both should return later this week.

Meyer also said receiver Percy Harvin, who has missed the past five days of practice as he recovers from offseason heel surgery, would return to practice Tuesday or Wednesday. He hasn't practiced since Aug. 5.

Tight end Cornelius Ingram underwent season-ending surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee on Monday. Meyer said Ingram, who suffered the injury during a non-contact drill in practice Aug. 5, would be named a captain of the team despite not being able to play.

[M.H.]

GAINESVILLE- Florida's numerous offensive weapons are starting to look a little more thin.

The Gators already have lost tight end Cornelius Ingram for the season with a torn left ACL and top receiver Percy Harvin, who is recovering from off-season heel surgery, hasn't practiced since Aug. 5.

Now No. 2 receiver Louis Murphy is out with a sprained ankle. Coach Urban Meyer said the injury isn't that serious and Murphy should be back later this week.

Freshman safety T.J. Lawrence, who was just converted from receiver, was carted off the field Monday with a bag of ice wrapped around his shoulder. Safeties coach Chuck Heater said receiver Justin Williams would move to safety.

Meyer said sophomore defensive tackle Torrey Davis will miss the Aug. 30 opener against Hawaii because "has got some business to take care of" and that it was a "multitude of things."

[TRUCANE]

Hey manny? I just want to know if Tommy Streeter is playing and how is he doing. Also, are we going to see him on the field this year. I think he is the sleeper. Everyone is talking about Aldarius Johnson and LaRon Byrd. But trust me this guy will be the next big time reciever. DON'T SLEEP ON HIM!!!!!

[M.H.]

U of F

More injuries

After losing TE Cornelius Ingram for the season and with No. 1 WR Percy Harvin still recovering from offseason heel surgery, the Gators are momentarily without another top offensive target. Senior WR has a sprained ankle and was in a protective boot, but Meyer said he doesn't think "it's that serious," and Murphy should return later this week.

Also, converted freshman S T.J. Lawrence, who came in as a receiver, was carted off the field with a bag of ice over his shoulder during the afternoon practice. Safeties coach Chuck Heater said WR Justin Williams would move over to safety as a replacement. CB Markihe Anderson has a sprained wrist but should be back by midweek.

"We're all frustrated," Meyer said. "We're all angry. But you've got to do what you've got to do, and that's fight through all these nagging injuries."

Etc.

Sophomore DT Torrey Davis will not play in the season opener on Aug. 30 against Hawaii. Meyer said Davis still "has got to take care of business" and that there are a "multitude of things." . . . Freshman DL Matt Patchan is almost recovered from a torn pectoral muscle. . . . S Bryan Thomas (cyst removed from his knee) will not play against Hawaii.

[Hester]

Matt Patchan is a loud mouth punk