By Zach Greenwell
Just got back from Western’s situational scrimmage football practice.
The Toppers worked through several different situations, lining up on the 35- and 50-yard lines early in practice, then moving to midfield and the red zone before backing up to the offense’s own goal line toward the end.
It was a poor day for the offense — probably one of its weakest so far this camp. The offense had several penalties and missed routes, and Head Coach Willie Taggart said he was kind of perplexed by the lack of focus.
Of the three quarterbacks, sophomore Kawaun Jakes was the clear winner today. Taggart said freshman Brandon Doughty began the day with two straight interceptions, and Pelesasa, who has returned from a tired throwing arm, never looked sharp and missed several throws.
It was just a weird day from the offense, to be honest. It probably comes down to a lack of mental focus — the kind of off day Taggart said he’d been waiting for — so it will be interesting to see how the Toppers respond tomorrow.
A few other thoughts from today’s scrimmage:
— Just a few people I saw sitting out of today’s practice — running backs Bobby Rainey and Avery Hibbitt, offensive lineman Adam Smith, receiver Dexter Haynes and linebacker Ben Duvall.
— Speaking of Rainey, I had a chance to talk with him after practice today. Rainey missed practice yesterday also with a sore shoulder, but I think both days have been purely precautionary. He should return to the field soon, yellow jersey in tote.
The conversation I had with Rainey was a pretty funny one. We talked football and just about everything outside it, including his tendency to play with himself on NCAA Football ’11 for Playstation 3.
Rainey commented on whether or not he’s rated fairly on the video game and even admitted that he sometimes puts himself in at QB when Jakes goes down hurt.
We of course also talked about the upcoming season and his expectations as an offensive leader. I’ll have that feature on Sunday, which is the team’s first day off since camp started.
I’ll have a notebook from today’s practice on the Web site soon, along with a feature on senior wide receiver Quinterrance Cooper. Cooper’s seen more losses than just about anybody on this Western squad, and he’ll be the first to tell you he’ll do anything Taggart says if it means wins.
Look for both of those stories at wkuherald.com later tonight.
chhtoppertalk.wordpress.com 