Hey gang. Ready to bring you another day of UK Football practice notes. It’s offense day, so we’ll have Eddie Gran, Lynn Bowden & Co. likely speaking to us this evening. ETA 5:45 ET. Stay tuned for all the latest news and notes as the Cats prepare to take on the Georgia Bulldogs...
* Good communication with the noise at practice today, Gran said. “Got a lot of good work done today.” A lot more energy coming off a win, he added.
* Both QBs are available now, full-go, Gran said. “It's really a good situation for us... Gives us a lot of options.” He added that Sawyer Smith was making good reads and threw with a lot of zip on the ball today. "The time off really helped."
* UGA defense doesn’t give you anything easy, very few explosive plays. In six games,there's something like six explosive runs. “You have to work for every yard,” Gran said. Front 7 is really strong. They try to take everything away.
* Gran admitted short-yardage situations have been extremely frustrating for both him and coach Schlarman. A couple of mistakes by players, one play where he admitted he put the Cats in a bad play.
* Gotta get out of the gates faster on Saturday, Gran said. Noted that they had a seven-play drive rolling against Arkansas and had a holding call wreck the drive. On some other drives, some pre-snap mistakes. “Inexcusable with our veteran O-Line.”
* Confidence is high for Clevan Thomas. He played about 50 snaps vs ARK, most since he’s been here. He has worked hard an earned it.
* “You’re not going to go down there and just mash Georgia,” Gran said. “We’ll have to get creative.”
* QBs coach Darin Hinshaw feels like they can do even more with Lynn Bowden in the passing game as he continues to improve his timing with the wide receivers. Just barely missed a couple of nice passing plays in the ARK game.
* "A lot more zip on the ball (from Sawyer Smith today)," Hinshaw said. "Very exciting." You could tell he was feeling a lot better when he came out before practice today. In a much better mood, smiling.
* Hinshaw really liked the fact that Bowden did not force the ball in the ARK game. Three different times they rolled him and he could have tried to make a throw down the field into tight coverage, but he was smart enough to take the rushing yardage. He wound up with about 100 yards on those three plays.
* OT Landon Young said he's feeling good and ready to take on Georgia. He said he looks forward to playing in great environments like Athens, that it has a positive effect on him, gets him hyped.
* Young mentioned an idea that Coach Dean Hood came up with that the Cats are using. He called it "Break Bread," where they will eat with someone from another position group or a guy on the other side of the ball that they don't usually spend a lot of time with. He thinks it has helped UK grow even closer as a team. During the sessions. they have to exchange info about each other, and when the coach calls on someone later to tell what they know, the person has to remember it and pass it on the rest of the team.
* QB/ATH Lynn Bowden said practice "went great" today, that it's a good feeling when you're coming off a win.
* "That's a good team over there," Bowden said of UGA. "But we're a good team, too. Battle of the Titans." (smile)
* Bowden volunteered to do whatever it takes to help the team win, even punt. (Don't expect him to replace Max Duffy any time soon.) But it shows what his mindset is. Winning is the No. 1 priority for him.
* "I know people still take us lightly," Bowden said. "We'll use that as a chip (on their shoulder)."
* Good communication with the noise at practice today, Gran said. “Got a lot of good work done today.” A lot more energy coming off a win, he added.
* Both QBs are available now, full-go, Gran said. “It's really a good situation for us... Gives us a lot of options.” He added that Sawyer Smith was making good reads and threw with a lot of zip on the ball today. "The time off really helped."
* UGA defense doesn’t give you anything easy, very few explosive plays. In six games,there's something like six explosive runs. “You have to work for every yard,” Gran said. Front 7 is really strong. They try to take everything away.
* Gran admitted short-yardage situations have been extremely frustrating for both him and coach Schlarman. A couple of mistakes by players, one play where he admitted he put the Cats in a bad play.
* Gotta get out of the gates faster on Saturday, Gran said. Noted that they had a seven-play drive rolling against Arkansas and had a holding call wreck the drive. On some other drives, some pre-snap mistakes. “Inexcusable with our veteran O-Line.”
* Confidence is high for Clevan Thomas. He played about 50 snaps vs ARK, most since he’s been here. He has worked hard an earned it.
* “You’re not going to go down there and just mash Georgia,” Gran said. “We’ll have to get creative.”
* QBs coach Darin Hinshaw feels like they can do even more with Lynn Bowden in the passing game as he continues to improve his timing with the wide receivers. Just barely missed a couple of nice passing plays in the ARK game.
* "A lot more zip on the ball (from Sawyer Smith today)," Hinshaw said. "Very exciting." You could tell he was feeling a lot better when he came out before practice today. In a much better mood, smiling.
* Hinshaw really liked the fact that Bowden did not force the ball in the ARK game. Three different times they rolled him and he could have tried to make a throw down the field into tight coverage, but he was smart enough to take the rushing yardage. He wound up with about 100 yards on those three plays.
* OT Landon Young said he's feeling good and ready to take on Georgia. He said he looks forward to playing in great environments like Athens, that it has a positive effect on him, gets him hyped.
* Young mentioned an idea that Coach Dean Hood came up with that the Cats are using. He called it "Break Bread," where they will eat with someone from another position group or a guy on the other side of the ball that they don't usually spend a lot of time with. He thinks it has helped UK grow even closer as a team. During the sessions. they have to exchange info about each other, and when the coach calls on someone later to tell what they know, the person has to remember it and pass it on the rest of the team.
* QB/ATH Lynn Bowden said practice "went great" today, that it's a good feeling when you're coming off a win.
* "That's a good team over there," Bowden said of UGA. "But we're a good team, too. Battle of the Titans." (smile)
* Bowden volunteered to do whatever it takes to help the team win, even punt. (Don't expect him to replace Max Duffy any time soon.) But it shows what his mindset is. Winning is the No. 1 priority for him.
* "I know people still take us lightly," Bowden said. "We'll use that as a chip (on their shoulder)."
