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| Offensive line coach Keith Clark watches a drill closely. |
HANOVER – There were a good number of high school juniors on unofficial visits gathered around the midfield huddle at the end of practice Thursday listening to the parting message Sammy McCorkle had for his players after the second of 12 spring sessions.
You didn’t need to be that close to hear what the head coach had to say.
McCorkle’s volume might have topped out at eight on a scale of 10 after what he later termed a productive, but uneven practice.
“I thought it was up-and-down,” he said a few minutes later, admitting he might have played up his disappointment with the team. “We had some high points and we had some lulls. We can’t have that. The effort was there for most of the guys. I just think the attention to detail and focus was up and down.
“We’ve got some newer guys out there and we put in new schemes today, so heads were spinning a little bit. But we have to lock in, focus and pay attention the whole time.”
Another issue McCorkle addressed with his players before sending them to the locker room was being ready to go from the very start of practice. While he was happy during last week's mat drills that players were on the field and champing at the bit to get going at the start of those sessions, that wasn’t the case for everyone on Thursday.
“I think some of the guy are still trying to figure things out,” he said. “Hopefully they’ll come out Saturday with a better understanding of what our expectation is.”
Because McCorkle anticipated there might be a few bumps in the road ahead of the first Memorial Field practice with his retooled coaching staff, he had run them through a dry run earlier in the day to make sure the session would smoothly and each period would begin on time. The advance work helped, to a point.
“We came out and did a walkthrough as a staff,” he explained. “We kind of went through the whole practice. It was, ‘This is where we’ll be in this period.’ And, ‘This is where we’ll be then.’
“It’s a bigger field out here and there’s longer distances to cover between stations and drills. It’s a lot easier indoors when everything is right there and you’re right next to each other. Out here we have to do a better job of anticipating stations and drills, and what the next period is, because the time adds up and that adds time to the practice. We’ve got to start moving our butts, and being ready to go on time.”
Making the first practice on Memorial Field even a little more problematic is ongoing construction in Floren Varsity House that has seen the Big Green’s locker room temporarily shifted to the bottom level of the gym.
“It’s only a little further than our regular locker room, but it’s different, and the guys need to give themselves a little more time to get over here and then come out ready,” said McCorkle. “And it’s the same with our coaches. This was the first day, and we didn’t know the exact timing of when to let the guys go. Now we do.”
MORNING VS. LATE AFTERNOON PRACTICES
It was after 7 p.m. when the team left the field Thursday and McCorkle was shooing the players off to the locker room so they could grab dinner before it was too late.
If he had his druthers he'd have all practices this spring in the morning hours.
"I think the players would prefer it, too," he said. "They probably don't feel that way when they get up in the morning, but they do say that after practice. Going in the morning gives you much more meeting time and stuff like that."
But don't look for a shift to morning practice any time soon.
"Obviously with class schedules and the quarter system here, guys can’t wait until the fourth week to start doing their schoolwork," McCorkle said. "They are doing their reading, writing papers, and studying for tests from the start, so we don't want to put them in a situation where they don't get their schoolwork done because they feel the need to get to bed early for practice.
"And we don't want them to be in a situation where they stay up to do their schoolwork and then show up for practice after three or four hours of sleep. That's when you get your injuries."
RIGHT-HAND MAN
With a handful of new coaches this spring, McCorkle is relying more than ever on Dino Cauteruccio, the senior director of football operations who has been with the program since 2015.
“He does very good job of keeping me organized,” McCorkle said, “and he’s really great for the new guys with all the questions they have. They can direct a lot of them right to Dino, and he can guide them. I can’t say enough about how important he is to me and this football program.”
NOTABLES
Among the plays that stood out Thursday was an interception during pass skeleton by Johnny Riley. … Noah Trigueros with on-the-money sideline throws in short order to Jordan Leslie, Cameron Bates and Nick Lemon. ... Also Colter Vela with a pretty, diving interception of a ball tipped by fellow D-back Samuel Washington.
During team drills, Myles Craddock showing excellent speed on a few runs. … Jaden Cummings with a terrific fake of a handoff enabling him to get around the left end before the defense caught on. …No’Koi Maddox with a nice pass breakup on a throw down the middle.
ANYONE CATCH YOUR EYE, COACH?
McCorkle: “I thought (corner) No’Koi Maddox showed up a couple of times out there. Johnny Stephens in the secondary and Niquis Ratcliff did a nice job back there. Matt Boydell and Sean Chester at linebacker.
“(Defensive end) Joshua Johnson was in the backfield the entire time. Chris Chol did a good job a couple of times in the backfield.”
On the other side of the ball, “I thought (quarterback) Jaden Cummings had a couple of nice runs. I thought all the quarterbacks threw the ball pretty well and took advantage of the field during pass skel.
“Myles Craddock looked good at running back. I thought Tay Williams showed up at tight end. Overall, I think it was pretty good across the board for the older guys. We just have to get some of the younger guys to step up.”
ON THE PRO HOPEFULS
Dartmouth has two graduating players (offensive lineman Delby Lemieux and safety Sean Williams), and two who grad transferred (defensive lineman Josiah Green to Duke and defensive back Onye Onuoha to Butler) hoping to get looks by the NFL this spring.
Lemieux and Green are both considered to be potential draft picks while Williams and Onuoha are expected to have a shot at regional tryouts near their hometowns in Tennessee and Colorado.
McCorkle: “I was down at Boston College when Delby worked out and he did a great job. You could see all the NFL scouts talking about him. And I know Josiah put up some great numbers at the pro day down at Duke.
“Sean Williams had a very good day here, and put up some really good numbers. I think he’ll get a workout with the Titans, and Onye with Denver.”
ON TAP
Practice No. 3 of the spring is set for Saturday on Memorial Field. It will be the final mandated practice in “uppers” before the team can have its first fully padded practices next week.
Expected to be on the sidelines watching practice Saturday is a contingent of high school juniors making official visits.
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| Sammy McCorkle and Kevin Daft help out with a ball-security drill. |