Fall Camp Practice #3 Recap

Coach Tedford's post practice press conference.

Yesterday's practice was closed to the media, but above you have Tedford's daily post practice presser with the media. So really, anything that you read about yesterday's practice is whatever reporters are gleaning from Coach Tedford right there.

A few of my quick impressions.

-Depth at d-line was a little bit of an issue today with Austin Clark still out to a broken foot injury, and a few other guys like Keni Kaufusi out for summer class finals. I don't think anyone is super concerned about d-line depth, but a lot of these guys still need as many practice minutes as possible.

-Tedford again praised the freshmen, particularly the receivers. Tedford specifically pointed out Chris Harper, who has flown a bit under some fans' radars, but if you watch his tape, he's probably one of the more polished route runners in this year's receiving class. Definitely keep an eye out for him.

-As Ryan Gorcey at BearTerritory.net reported, DE Gabe King has moved to the inside to provide depth at nose tackle behind Kendrick Payne and Villami Moala. It's an interesting move for a player who for all his talent, hasn't been able to turn it on just yet. King was a highly prized DE recruit as part of the North Carolina quartet of players that year and offers impressive size at 6'5, 293 pounds. The light hasn't gone on exactly just yet, which saw him get passed up in the depth chart by freshman Mustafa Jalil, and Tedford has stated he just needs to work himself into shape. It's a story to follow during camp.

-In regards to Zach Maynard, Tedford reiterated that he is night and day from where he was last year. His understanding of the offense and managing the flow of the game appears to be up to speed. Says Tedford, "Last year he knew some, but nowhere near where he is now."

-Some interesting bits when discussing the depth of the offensive line with the inclusion of the freshmen o-lin men. True frosh center Matt Cochran took a step back on Sunday with some of his center-QB exchanges which they addressed yesterday. He has the physicality to be looked at 3rd currently in the depth chart at center, but they're still working RS frosh Jordan Rigsbee and RS sophomore Chris Adcock in there as well. They're so early in camp that they're working all the way through a four-deep, but that should eventually start getting slimmed down.

-A lot of eyes are on frosh tackle Freddie Tagaloa, the 6'9, 340 lb monster of a tackle. Speed, tempo, and finishing plays are areas he will need to continue to work on, but Tedford stated that he's doing a "fine job." It is visible though that true frosh Christian Okafor is further ahead as a result of him having been able to participate in Spring Ball however. I must say I'm super excited about these tackles, along with Steven Moore, who I think is a bit more of a project given his athletic and lean frame. These guys are going to provide some nice depth in a position where that has been sorely lacking for the Bears the past several years.

-PSU transfer Khairi Fortt isn't even practicing with the team yet, as he's in rehab mode until his knee gets better. Like I suspected, the team is taking it very slowly with Fortt, and aren't going to rush him into anything.

-In regards to the freshmen wide receivers, it's clear to anyone and everyone that that's one unit where the coaches can't really afford to bring along slowly. The team needs those guys to develop and develop quickly, and they're going to need to "press the issue" as Tedford stated.

The team will again be in shells today but will be in full pads tomorrow for the first time.