By Tyler Wooten
GoSycamores.com
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Day Seven was another solid practice for the Sycamores on Tuesday afternoon, completing the first full week of training camp. ISU also began to prepare for its season opener against Butler at home on Sept. 5 with some opponent scheme work.
1. Despite some nasty clouds early, it was yet another beautiful day at Memorial Stadium following two slightly muggy days of practice. The temperate nature of camp so far was one of the first things head coach Mike Sanford talked about following practice today, saying he couldn't have asked for better weather.
2. As mentioned, Tuesday's practice was the first in which the Sycamores started to break down the offensive and defensive schemes for the Butler season opener. No full scout teams just yet, but every other drill today seemed focused on looking for reads on both sides of the ball that the Bulldogs will employ.
3. Yesterday, Coach Sanford was pleased with the amount of turnovers the defense was forcing, but not particularly whelmed with how the offense was taking care of the ball. The offense responded in kind today with a much more secured attack in ball protection and even had success against the defense on multiple occasions during 7-on-7.
4. As previously reported, it's been a common occurrence to hear secondary coach Gerald Alexander yell “That's a sack!” when the defense holds strong and forces the quarterback into checking down. During one instance on Tuesday, though, sophomore quarterback Matt Adam scanned every possible check-down and then proceeded to roll out right to eventually find senior Gary Owens on the sideline to combat the blanket coverage. Zach Kline also had an impressive throw during 7-on-7, managing to hit Dante Jones right in the hands where linebacker Jameer Thurman couldn't reach him even though he had him locked down.
And then on two consecutive plays, quarterback Isaac Harker found Owens and James Mitchell, Jr. on deep seam routes to the endzone. In an exact reversal from yesterday, Coach Sanford expressed delight in the play of the offense during this sequence, but dismay at the two big plays the defense gave up back-to-back; a Catch-22 even Joseph Heller would find amusing.
5. Today's special teams segments were focused on punting, which also meant we were able to glimpse ISU's three potential punt returners for 2015: Mark Sewall (115 yards in 2014), LeMonte Booker and Robert Tonyan Jr. Punter Osborn Umeh also looked impressive again while keeping busy in between team drills, consistently hitting inside the 10 from near midfield – including one that smacked the one-yard line head-on and went out of bounds.
6. Observant Sycamore fans may have noticed that there hasn't been much about Preseason All-MVFC cornerback Travis Starks so far this camp. Starks has been practicing with the team in a limited capacity while trying to nurse a minor hamstring injury suffered right before the beginning of camp. He still looks sharp as ever in drills, but is taking a precaution now just to be safe. Still, Starks is as vocal and supportive as ever, even giving support to other injured Sycamores in weight training exercises on the sideline during practice.
7. Good news for Sycamore fans is that whichever quarterback wins the starting job will be able to move around without any issues. All four Sycamore QBs can run very well, which was showcased today with an increased emphasis on the zone-read option.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including Facebook and Twitter.
