Today's scrimmage was supposed to only go 80 plays, but extended well past that. Perhaps that was because the coaches were having as much fun as I was watching it. Today's workout was everything you want a scrimmage to be, and very fun to watch. It was a practice marked by big plays on both sides of the ball. Long touchdown passes and sweeps by the offense. Sacks on blitzes, and end-zone interceptions by the defense. An exciting back and forth that included big hits and run stops, only to be followed by play action bombs and big gains running up the middle. here are my notes:

-We knew before the scrimmage that the "ones" would sit most of the day out, we know what we have there. That meant that today was Brewer's day to shine......and he did. His best practice by far, he made all the passes. Screens, slants, HB dumps, and 50 yard bombs......he really got to flex his muscles. Clayton Nicholas didn't get many reps, and didn't make any plays, but he probably throws the prettiest ball of any of the QBs.

-Those of us on the sidelines agreed that this may not yet be the best receiving corps we have ever had at the top, but the 2-deep is the best and it's not even close. The following guys had huge plays: Moore, Marquez, Ward, Bell, R. Davis, Wheeler, Amaro, Kennard. Whats crazy is most of these guys run with the 2s and 3s.

-Two starting OL are out with concussions, but guys like the Morales brother's stepped up nicely. In general the QBs had plenty of time to make throws except when the defense was blitzing. Trey Kennan had some issues, but he is a true freshman. The one annoying facet of OL play was the dozen or so motion penalties called on what seemed like the entire line at one point or another.

-Torres, Stephens, and Washington were held out of contact. as expected.

-Kenny Williams ran in limited snaps with the ones, but looks like a seasoned vet. Sadale Foster got most of the reps, and had his best day of camp. Whether it was up the middle, to the outside, or catching passes, he looked great. Quinton White had a strong day as well.

-Grab a mug of kool-aide. We are better on defense. First team offense was unable to drive the field at all today, and was only able to score on big downfield passes when they started on the 50. First team D was disruptive on the run, gang tackled, scored sacks, and broke up passes. I don't know how much better, but we are better, mark it down. 2nd and third team defense got picked a part a little more by Brewer, but still recorded as many big plays as were scored against them. Just a really balanced scrimmage.

-Eugene Neboh is really settling in nicely opposite Corn as corner. I fully expected Jones or Newbold to come in and steal the other corner spot that Neboh held in the Spring, and I think it's awesome he is hanging in there. It mess we now have depth at this spot.

-The little guys, Grant and McCroy are still making big plays with there speed, but our defense have seen these plays too many times and are sniffing them out. Javares did get the best of the 3rd team D on a reverse and with his amazing speed made it to 2 yard line, from mid field, before he was touched by a single player. Equally exciting was that he was met at the two by a gang of DBs and absolutely de-cleated. Yes the young 3rd string DBs were tricked on the reverse, but that didn't stop the entire gang of them from refusing to give up, and track McCroy down and deliver a teeth chattering hit.

-Our new kicker Bustin was perfect on the day for field goals. He is a former All American from Kilgore.

-The biggest thing on defense is the noise. No noise from the coaches, they are almost silent. A lot of noise amongst the players, they are constantly communicating, constantly calling out and adjusting coverage. It looks like they have been running this defense for 3 years. It remains to be seen whether they will tackle, stop other teams run, or get turnovers. But it appears they will be lined up correctly, and are confident.

-Honestly I left the stadium thinking our 2nd team D and O could win 7 or 8 games this year. I don't know what that means for 2012, but I like what it means for 2013 and 2014.