...anyone who made it to CMU's spring drills, would you care to share first-hand impressions? I regret I wasn't able to attend (again)... <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

A few observations from the spring game:
Coach Debord seemed intense the entire time
DT James Cooper was impressive(a couple of tackles and QB hurries)
I saw why the coaching staff has been complementing Steve Messem, he is very quick and made a couple of nice grabs
Vickers appears to be the best QB by a slight margin
The offense and defense seemed evenly matched
Smith has a gun for an arm but he seems a little raw, he can make the long throws but can't complete a simple screen pass
WR Jacob Brown seemed to not have his head in the game, one play he ran a nice route, got himself open and then failed to turn his head and the ball bounced off his helmet.( Coach Debord gave him an earful)

Thanks, SC! It's good to know that several different people are reporting the same good news: improvement by Messam and Vickers, better defensive play, etc. One thing I haven't heard much about: last season, our "D" was usually in position to plays, but too often failed to make the doggone tackles! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Mad]" src="mad-flaming.gif" /> Does the hitting/tackling seem improved?

Spring. Ding. It's a meaningless exercise that tells fans nothing. Mikey's not about to expose his real talent until the first, and possibly not until the second game against Wyoming. I've attended these in the past and they are all the same. Drill-like procedures with one or two flashes in the pan to keep the spectators happy. Other than catching some rays and meeting some players/coaches, it usually ends up being a injury-prevention-walk-through. <img border="0" alt="[Puke]" title="" src="graemlins/puke.gif" />

Sorry for the delayed response Cmich, but I was having computer troubles and then was out of town. Regarding the hitting/tackling, I didn't notice any glaring missed tackles and was happy to see both the offense and defense hitting with authority. Our new strength and conditioning coach has been working hard judging by the increased size of many of the returning players.

CE- Your right that coaches are worried about injuries during the spring game. Rob Turner, Willie Hill, Rod Means and Darvin Lewis didn't play, But other than that I didn't notice anyone else missing. Although Debord obviously didn't show any new plays you can still tell a few things by watching. I was watching for how physical the play was,how the lines stacked up against each other and how the young players looked.

Thanks, SC. Good to hear there was solid tackling. If this becomes a trend, Our "D" could go from one of the MAC's worst to one of its best in a hurry. Guys were usually in position to make plays last season, but they too often failed to execute.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by CHIPPEWA ENEMA:
Spring. Ding. It's a meaningless exercise that tells fans nothing. Mikey's not about to expose his real talent until the first, and possibly not until the second game against Wyoming. I've attended these in the past and they are all the same. Drill-like procedures with one or two flashes in the pan to keep the spectators happy. Other than catching some rays and meeting some players/coaches, it usually ends up being a injury-prevention-walk-through. <img border="0" alt="[Puke]" title="" src="graemlins/puke.gif" /> </font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">i agree.. <img border="0" alt="[Saber]" title="" src="graemlins/saber.gif" />