1. I'll start with the quarterbacks, since that's really all people will are about. The most interesting thing I saw from this position on day one was the fact that the reps were split pretty evenly on the first team.
In the early drills and 7 on 7, Tyrone Swoopes was actually the first one to hit the field, ahead of Shane Buechele.
The QBs rotated in so frequently that I'm not sure I'd read too much into the reps just yet (probably about 50/50), but it was a bit of a surprise to me to see Swoopes and Buechele basically on even footing.
2. As for who played better, I'd give the slight nod to Beuchele. Neither player set the world on fire, but Buechele did make a couple nice throws downfield and things just seem to flow better when he's in the game.
Swoopes made some decent throws of his own, but he also had at least one bad interception and another couple times where he put the ball on the turf. Those are the types of mistakes he absolutely has to eliminate if he wants to truly compete for the starting job.
3. Jerrod Heard got the third-team reps with Matthew Merrick getting the fourth-team reps. From what I saw, Kai Locksley didn't get a single snap in 11-on-11, 7-on-7 or even 1-on-1 drills. Locksley was relegated to the sidelines with the walk-ons.
When Heard was on the field, the offense basically consisted of zone reads. He did make some nice plays with his run and is by far the quickest of the QBs on the roster, but we didn't really get to see Heard do anything with his arm today.
4. The practice opened with field goal kicking drills. It's day one ... keep saying that ... it's day one ... but graduate transfer Trent Domingue didn't exactly get off to a hot start. I believe he was 1-4 on the day with a make from 42 yards, into a bit of a breeze. His last kick, also a 42-yarder, came up several yards short.
5. These coaches do not mind lighting guys up if a player is screwing up.
Five minutes into practice, Charlie Strong was ripping into true freshman Jordan Elliott and alter in the practice, Brian Jean-Mary chewed out true freshman linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch. It was nothing like what we saw last year with Cecil Cherry, but the coaches expect everyone, even the young guys, to come in mentally prepared.
6. It was interesting seeing during positional drills that Jeff Traylor was working exclusively with the inside receivers. The tight ends were further down the field working with some support staff coaches.
7. Some notes I scribbled down from 1-on-1s early in practice.
- John Burt beats Davante Davis
- Sheroid Evans with an interception but it was a bad throw by Swoopes behind the receiver
- Brandon Jones with nice tight coverage on Devin Duvernay on an underneath route
- Duvernay did beat somebody deep. Him using his straight-line speed is where he's at his best.
- Armanti Foreman beat Kris Boyd badly. Great footwork by Foreman, who received big-time praise from WR coach Charlie Williams
- Burt beats Davante Davis again
8. Collin Johnson had a pretty quiet day, but he still has the look of maybe the team's top overall receiver. On one play, he tried to get downfield against Holton Hill and nearly made a terrific leaping catch over good coverage. On his way back to the WR line, Charlie Williams was really coaching Johnson up, telling him "Everything's not a go ball." Johnson's so big, fast and talented that he probably feels he can beat guys deep every time, but the coaches were working with him to work in some other routes.
9. Jerrod Heard was wearing gloves at quarterback. I'm already preparing for some "makes for an easy transition to wide receiver" jokes.
10. San Antonio Marshall WR Stanley Lambert was a the practice. Lambert attended UT's Under the Lights camp last month.
11. I thought one of the most interesting developments of the day was the shuffle among the first-team offensive line. Patrick Vahe his now at left guard, lining up beside LT Connor Williams. Zach Shackelford at center. Kent Perkins made the move to right guard, with Tristan Nickelson starting at right tackle.
No pads, so it's really too early to grade that group, but the moves of Perkins and Vahe will be interesting to follow.
12. In 7-on-7 work, Tyrone Swoopes was the first one out there to take reps. It was a four-WR set with Collin Johnson, Jacorey Warrick, Lorenzo Joe and John Burt.
13. Chris Warren did not work out. Anwar Richardson tweeted that Charlie Strong mentioned it's a slight hamstring issue for Warren. I did stand pretty close to Warren on the sidelines and he seemed to be in great spirits. He also had a long sleeve shirt on under his jersey. Warren carries his weight well, but it would be a bad thing if he sweat off a few pounds (listed at 6-2, 252).
14. D'Onta Foreman popped off a couple big runs. Tristian Houston also had a long run. Kirk Johnson and Kyle Porter both got quite a bit of work, including some snaps for both guys with the first team.
15. Anthony Wheeler made an easy interception on Swoopes in the beginning of 7-on-7 drills. Swoopes also threw an INT in 11-on-11 work, when Quincy Vasser jumped up to grab a batted ball.
16. On back to back plays, with Jerrod Heard at QB, Jeffrey McCulloch and Cameron Townsend made nice pass break-ups.
17. Punt returners ... Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, Armanti Foreman, Jacorey Warrick, Devin Duvernay and Holton Hill.
18. The punters (Michael Dickson and Mitchell Becker) were working with a slight wind behind their backs. Both guys hit some great kicks, but Dickson was more consistent. And when he gets one to spiral and really turn over, the ball just flies. He hit a couple that went about 80 yards in the air.
19. Dylan Haines recorded an INT in 7-on-7 work off of Shane Buechele.
20. I thought Hemphill-Mapps and Davion Curtis both did some good things for it being their first practice. Hemphill-Mapps earned praise from a couple coaches after some of his 7-on-7 work.
21. Second-team secondary in 7-on-7 when they went nickel:
CB Sheroid Evans, Nickel Antwuan Davis, S John Bonney, S Kevin Vaccaro, CB Kris Boyd.
22. The tight ends were pretty quiet, but Andrew Beck did have a nice catch down the seam from Buechele. He got behind Anthony Wheeler and pulled in an accurate throw for a big gain.
23. It was a bit of a surprise to see Bryce Cottrell and Naashon Hughes get as much or more first-team run as Charles Omenihu.
24. DT ... Poona Ford and Paul Boyette getting first-team run. Chris Nelson and Jordan Elliott getting second-team run. Nelson looks undersized standing next to Elliott.
25. McCulloch was getting some second-team snaps already. He'll be one worth watching moving forward.
Bonus note ... I'm a dumbass. Despite charging my camera battery all night and making sure the memory card was free, I somehow left my house without my camera today. Photo gallery will have to wait until tomorrow. My apologies for that error.
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