MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Middle Tennessee went through a two-hour practice on Friday in shorts, shoulder pads, and helmets for its sixth workout of the spring.
It was a busy day for the Blue Raider coaches as they are hosting their annual coaching clinic today and Saturday. Each coach talked about various areas of the game today then invited everyone to practice. It will conclude with the scrimmage on Saturday.
As for Friday's workout, the Blue Raiders still had to deal with a number of players not being able to practice which is really setting the team back. However, the effort, intensity, and focus have been a major plus according to Head Coach Rick Stockstill.
"We had a much better practice today than we did on Wednesday," added Stockstill. "I thought a lot of guys got better today."
Stockstill, who has been pleased with the defense all spring, was even more impressed on Friday.
"There were some guys on defense who really showed up today," said Stockstill. "Kevin Brown and Rod Issac made a lot of plays in the secondary and Jamari Lattimore, Chris McCoy, and Phillip Tinsley have all really enjoyed a solid six days of practice. The effort on that side of the ball has been outstanding."
Offensively, the Blue Raiders are still trying to get comfortable while having to overcome a thin offensive line but Stockstill saw a lot of positives on Friday.
"Dwight Dasher had a good day on Friday and threw the ball well," said Stockstill. "It really helped to have Sancho McDonald and Patrick Honeycutt back at practice because it helped the continuity of the offense.
"We are still inconsistent with shotgun snaps and we had some turnovers today that we have to get corrected. Overall, we were much better today than earlier in the week."
The Blue Raiders will hold their first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday in Floyd Stadium. The scrimmage should get underway at 11:25 AM.
"We are going to put them in game-like situations and see how they respond," said Stockstill. "We are going to make it as tough on them as we can while putting a lot of pressure on the guys so they will be better prepared when gameday arrives. We may not be able to go as many snaps as I would like on Saturday because of our offensive line but we will see how it plays out. It will be as close to a game as it can be."
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