Though distant thunder sent practice indoors about halfway through the afternoon, it was the sound of shoulder pads that resonated the most on Friday.
Trench battles were more meaningful -- and chippy. With the added contact, 11-on-11 work offered a better progress report too.
What would the report read? As head coach Mike Norvell put it after the day concluded: Solid moments for just about everyone in every phase.
"That looked like a real practice," declared a hoarse Norvell.
As it was the first day with shoulder pads on, today's observations will include some in-depth reports from the trenches. But first, we'll hit on skill positions and some other notable developments.
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Thanks in part to our Ira Schoffel, who offered up a complete rundown of Thursday's practice, here are the skill and special teams notes from Friday's practice:
*In the first play of two-minute offense, Jordan Travis hit Malik McClain for a downfield-bomb in the neighborhood of 50 yards. McClain leaped and caught a jump ball over Renardo Green and another defensive back.
*McClain would add a couple of more pretty catches in both individual and team drills, including a deep shot against Azareye'h Thomas and a difficult back-shoulder effort in which he pinned the ball to his chest through contested coverage.
*On the second play of two-minute offense, Treshaun Ward broke a long touchdown run.
*The tight ends made some tough catches today. Early on, freshman Jerrale Powers went down to catch a low ball over the middle. In 11-on-11 drills, sophomore Jackson West made a contested catch on a medium-depth throw from Tate Rodemaker. Preston Daniel made a tip-to-himself snag over Tatum Bethune.
*Speaking of Bethune, today was my first chance to be out there to see practice this camp. Though I was well aware of his talents in the spring, Bethune still flashed today as he made some sudden, violent moves around the ball. At times we get in a rhythm of watching plays and taking notes. Bethune is a player who will snap you out of that rhythm for good reasons.
*The run defense flashed consistently in 11-on-11 drills. No surprise, but to gain traditional ground yards up the middle on guys like Robert Cooper and Fabien Lovett, the Seminole offense will have to put in some serious work.
*Receiver Johnny Wilson made what Ira called a "big time" leaping catch over Omarrion Cooper. Wilson flashed in a couple of other plays, including a spinning back-shoulder catch that required good footwork on the sideline. While I was across the field, Ira was front-row for this one and said it appeared Wilson got both feet in.
*The coaching staff is spending a lot of time working with receiver Deuce Spann, who had a deep catch again today (and a wide open drop). After qualifying his rawness at the position, Norvell raved about Spann in his post-practice talk.
*In one-on-ones, Demorie Tate made a good pass break-up but couldn't finish the play with an interception. The deflection actually ended up in the lap of Kentron Poitier, who took it in for a score.
*In team drills, Jarrian Jones jumped an AJ Duffy swing/bubble pass for a big play in the backfield.
*Receiver Joshua Burrell made a few plays today, including an over-the-back snag against Kevin Knowles II and a touchdown in 7-on-7 work. Burrell also had a drop, but has some positive moments after a quiet spring.
*Knowles flashed with an interception of a Rodemaker deep pass intended for Ja'khi Douglas.
*Pokey Wilson displayed his speed a few times today, including in one rep against Jones.
*The quarterbacks each had their moments. Jordan Travis made some nice throws up the sidelines for back-shoulder completions in addition to his early bomb. Rodemaker made a really nice throw rolling to his right to Burrell and showed good poise in a zone-read look. After deciding to keep the ball as the running back was being tackled, Tate took off, rolled right, fired and hit an open Johnny Wilson.
*Special teams-wise, the kick returners included Spann, Trey Benson, Sam McCall, Ja’Khi Douglas, Lawrance Toafili and Pokey Wilson. Working on punt returns were Mycah Pittman, Thomas, Mike Roussos and Keyshawn Helton.
*It's worth noting on special teams that in some of the blocking drills that carried over from the spring, execution was significantly better on Friday. Gunners made far fewer plays, though Amari Gainer did flash in one particular rep as he fought through a block to make a big hit.
