Bulldog Football Blog to give coaches' recap of practice sessions
Each day after spring football practice, we will have quotes from the Bulldog Football coaching staff on what happened during practice and improvements made.
April 26
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Busy day today. Freshman Friday enabled us to catch up with our signees. Perfect weather for our last day of Spring ball. Coaches from Southern Cal, Baylor, Texas Tech, and Miss. State paid a visit. Best effort on both sides of the ball today. Offense executed a couple of razzle dazzle plays that caught the defense. Defense came out hot creating three quick take a ways. I really appreciate the competitive spirit of our Coaches. Good to see Richard Hampton run hard today. He was a rolling ball of butcher knives. Our Coaches are looking forward to next week as we get to go locate the best players in the state. This was a great week to be a HCC Bulldog.
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Spring practice has come to an end. We are now prepping to get on the road and do some spring recruiting. The men worked hard this spring, and I was pleased with their development. We have a lot of work still to do and some important pieces of the puzzle to put into place before September. Go Dogs!"
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Proud of all our Bulldogs today - got through the spring and made improvements at every position. Had a lot of different guys make plays today. Quay Watt started us off by running back 3rd play for pick 6 and played very physical today. Mike Holliman had a strong day with 2 interceptions. Lots of guys contributed. Excited for the next evolution of our team and was very good to see a lot of the incoming players at today's scrimmage. Excited about getting to work in July."
April 24
No practice due to weather.
April 22, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Players worked hard today. Coaches keep challenging, players keep responding. See improvement in many areas. Guest Coach Carol White presented a great seminar for our specialists. She is one of the best kicking instructors in the country. Saw immediate improvement in our unit. Good to see the D-1 coaches here again. Looking forward to the Hall of Fame dinner on Thursday. Walter Jones and Duane Starks being inducted, two of the greatest Bulldogs ever. I encourage all Bulldog fans to attend a special evening."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Another great day in Goodman. We keep working to get better at what we do. The men have a good attitude and are giving their best efforts."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Heat got turned up again today and challenged our guys. Shifted focus to a different package today and dusted off some calls with varying success. Need to keep pushing through and get our communication perfect. Looking forward to wrapping up installation on Wednesday and coaching hard to get better. Hard to play for us - harder to play against us. Know both sides of the ball will be excited to compete for the last two practices."
April 19, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Todays practice started with a spirited goaline session. In a close battle the defense got the edge. The speed of the game was better today. Team toughness is improving. Our Coaches are doing a great job of demanding the best out of our players. Saw improvement in our special team segments. Got a couple of nagging injuries that has limited some players reps. Our training staff does a great job of getting them back on the practice field. Looking forward to a productive week next week. Another opportunity for the Bulldogs to get better."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Weather was great. We were able to run about 70 plays and it was good to get the reps. We have to improve our ability to throw the ball. I did see a couple of our zone run schemes go well, but the play actions are lagging behind. Three more practices to improve our knowledge of the offense. The little things count. "
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Played with passion and a lot of energy today. DogPound was challenged by the coaches and they responded with a good day. Communication was good and some guys are really starting to embrace their role. Some standout performances today: Jammie Jamison brought great attitude and had an INT. Kris Givens got back on track and picked off the first play of the day. Terrious Triplett continued his solid play and Jordan Chambers showed flashes of what he can be with some big plays. Still have some work to do and we are very excited to coach hard next week and also to get out on the road an scour the state for the next great group of future Bulldogs."
April 17, 2013
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Getting back to basics the past few days and it's been paying off some. Some guys are picking things up...need everyone to finish the last few practices strong. Things our offense is doing is really making us hustle and is helping us craft our run defense which has been very solid this week. Need to push through our depth issues and the heat...still have things to work on."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Practice was a hot one today. We worked hard to show our toughness. I was proud of the fight many displayed. Danny Huffines showed good leadership and pushed his teammates to give their best. 7 on 7 has steadily improved allowing us to shorten the time spent in this segment of practice. Nick Glover has improved his blitz mentality from the QB position. We are always pressing forward and moving fast to get better. I really enjoy this groups expectation of victory."
April 15, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Practice today really challenged our players to execute and fight through. We wanted a physical practice and many of our players responded. On offense what stood out was the yardage after catches. Recievers did a nice job of getting the ball down the field. On defense they did a better job fitting on the inside run drill. Eric Hilton had his best day of Spring ball. Shaq Holmes made another nice catch and run. Overall the practice was the most spirited we've had. Having several D 1 coaches observing practice motivated some. The Bulldogs got better today."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Practice today was very good for our offense. The extra heat created an atmosphere for the players to fight through. We had the team on the boards today. We enjoy watching the men compete in a one on one controlled drill. The seven on seven was the best we have had so far. We completed some big plays and the receivers ran hard after catch. This was great to see. The offense is trying hard to improve their execution and attention to detail. I can't wait until Wednesday. Expect Victory."
April 12, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Great weather for today's scrimmage. Defense looked good in the red zone. Proud to see the Offense respond and come back with a couple of well executed long drives. Daniel Huffines showed up big today. Nick Glover looked more comfortable running the offense. Hampton ran hard. Place kicking was not consistent. Matt Spencer had a very good day punting the ball. T Shepard made an athletic pick to halt a drive. Coaches are heading to University of Alabama to promote and recruit for the Bulldogs."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "The offense had a better day. Early on the defense dominated the red zone portion of the scrimmage. The second unit had a 97 yard drive that concluded with a touchdown pass from Nick Glover to Jabari Sims. The ones contributed a series later with a 70 yard drive with Richard Hampton diving over the goal line. Overall, the offense showed signs of improvement."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Started the day well in the red zone. Was swiftly downhill from there. Need much better execution and mental toughness and that starts with me. Have to find some defensive character as we are very hot and cold right now, and that starts with me. Newcomers Terrious Triplett and Tee Shepard showed up to play."
April 10, 2013
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Did some more situational practicing today. We worked on coming out from our goal line. The defense created some safeties which is always worrisome. On the bright side we did have a couple of very big plays. Nick Glover was given some time and hit Shaquan Holmes for a 97 yard TD on one of them. We had a rough day with turnovers which we will work to correct instantly. Overall, we have no more install and should see the execution rise each time we practice."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Demanded the most mentally out them by far today...some did ok, others need to get in the play books. Gave up a few plays and made a few plays. Kris Givens is getting a workout from Glover and Holmes...more than holding his own and had his third pick-6 of spring. Hoping to find the "heart and soul" of our defense. Still up in the air about who we will choose to be. I know our guys will respond the way we want. Looking forward to scrimmage and a chance to compete on Friday."
April 8, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Used today to correct mistakes from Fridays scrimmage. We must learn to play hard from start to finish. O and D line got to mix it up on the infamous board drill. D line won most of the battles. Bully ran hard today, especially on the inside drill. Saw Shaq Holmes make another nice catch on a deep ball. Had a couple of take aways caused by contact. What a great privilege it is to Coach and Play college football."
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "The run game showed up today and we made a few get to the third level of the defense. We still are trying to get our protections solid. The defense is challenging us with all their pressure packages. Friday's scrimmage produced a group of "Grinders". These are guys who pushed hard and played tough. Congrats to: Shaquan Holmes, WR; Nick Glover, QB; Dan Huffines, WR; and Antwan Bulley, RB."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "First really warm day and you could feel the energy wane from our guys as day went on. Demanded a lot today - have to mentally toughen and push through to execute when fatigued. Was the most physical we have been and forced some takeaways. Still have lots to work on and will keep after it. New offensive wrinkles will help us immensely in our preparation."
April 5, 2013
Head Coach Jeff Koonz --- "Got some quality game like situations in today. Coaches did a nice job of having the players ready for the first "Live" scrimmage of the spring. The Offense did a good job of protecting the ball (no take-aways). Nice TD catch by Shaq Holmes. Defense had several good third down stops. They swarmed well at times. We were 100 % on extra pt. and FG's. Introduced Punt return today. Good to see some sunshine. Great Day to be a Holmes Bulldog !!"
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Great to be on the field again. You could tell the offense hasn't practice since Monday. Our execution wasn't good. We are still putting in our offense and will need some more practices to expect results. Nick Glover connected with Shaquan Holmes for a TD that was great to see. Keep on grinding."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "First scrimmage was not without its fair share of mistakes that we will have to clean up. Effort was pretty good but we left a lot of plays on the field. Have a lot to work on for next week."
April 1, 2013
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "Had a third down practice today. Some of our gap schemes worked out. We need to firm up our pocket play actions. There was to much pressure on the QB. We probably had to much ham on Easter. As always we will work to improve and score points."
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "Made progress today. Some guys really beginning to show signs of breaking out and are really picking up our ambitious plans well. Overall we have to work on our consistency. Very solid day today by Quay Watt, Terrious Triplett, Eric Hilton, and Kris Givens. Richard Mitchell also showing signs of improvement and sky is limit for him. Pressure game was very productive today and did a nice job of winning 3rd down. Lot of work still to be done but moving along well an we are light years ahead of this point last spring."
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Defensive Coordinator Chris Woods --- "A lot of good work today. We have a lot in, and we are pushing through it mentally. Our pressure game looks good, but we need to be better in our base calls and playing football. We've gotten solid play thus far by Hilton, Givens, Cason, and Watt. Great to see our offense grind out some yards - will help us win!
Offensive Coordinator Mike McCarty --- "The speed of practice was better today. Our play action was productive, and we had a few longer yardage plays. Second effort and finishing plays was up from Monday's practice. Expect victory.