Not that many teams got practices started Thursday -- to boot, it was Mississippi State, Washington State, and Troy -- but spring football continued to roll along.
2013 college football spring practice: Butch Jones yells, Boise State plays soccer
Mississippi State and Washington State kicked off their spring sessions the other day, but maybe the most notable things about Thursday in spring football were Butch Jones’ enthusiasm and Boise State’s take on another sport.
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Here’s a look at what happened in spring ball Thursday:
Boise State
There's some important stuff one OBNUG's practice report from Thursday, like the fact that Jay Ajayi seems like the team's best running back, but probably more important is Chris Petersen forcing the team's defensive linemen to take penalty kicks.
You'll see the D-linemen trying to stop a couple of pretty sad soccer shots from their teammates. First up, Ricky Tjong-A-Tjoe fails in spectacular(ly funny) fashion, but Elliot Hoyte shows why the UK is a futbol power and makes an amazing—albeit slow—save.
Washington State
Mike Leach's squad looks to build off a 3-9 year, and they started in the snow. With Jeff Tuel gone, Leach is looking for a quarterback. Connor Halliday is probably the favorite, and as Coug Center notes, the rising junior no longer worries about a lacerated liver suffered last season -- "Halliday did say it felt good to not have any pain in his internal organs. So there is that."
Tennessee
For the Vols, Thursday was their last practice before the players go on spring break, and while coaches are expected to be amped up, word is Butch Jones was even more amped up than one might expect. From Go Vols Xtra:
Tennessee coach Butch Jones set the tone during the early stretching session, yelling into the mic, “The soft guys will get exposed!” Jones was particularly active on the mic today, calling out and challenging players -- sometimes playfully, sometimes not. “We’re fighting for blades of grass today,” he said several times.
(linebackers coach Tommy) Thigpen said, “No, no, no. I think Coach (Jones) kind of set the tempo, today. He was on fire this morning. He was going after everybody. The tempo got set early this morning, about 7AM this morning. He was ripping coaches; he was ripping players. I thought the tempo was probably the best we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
Butch is making his mark, or at least letting everybody know that he isn’t Derek Dooley or, for that matter, Lane Kiffin.
Mississippi State
The SEC’s other Bulldogs got practice underway after an eight-win season in 2012, and For Whom The Cowbell Tolls provided a summary of what to expect, with the wide receivers as a focus:
Besides DBs, the position group that I am most looking forward to watching this spring are the WRs. With the loss of Chad Bumphis, Arceto Clark, and Chris Smith, MSU is breaking in a brand new set of starters, but many aren't new faces to State fans. I am interested to see how Fred Brown, who is coming off a redshirt, and Jeremey Chappelle, a JUCO transfer, challenge Morrow and Robert Johnson this spring. Both are talented, and could challenge for starting spots. Also, it will be intriguing to see if Brandon Holloway can challenge Jameon Lewis for the hybrid-WR spot in MSU's offense. Word is that Holloway is a lighning bolt of quickness on the field.
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