Fall camp quotes and takeaways: Day 2
Boy did I think I was in trouble.
I could kind of tell coach Wells had this vibe about him after practice today that essentially said to the few media members present — Guys. We aren’t in pads yet. Everything today is the same as it was yesterday.
Understandable.
I don’t want to waste anyone’s time. Even for the hardiest fans, preseason camp is fairly devoid of interesting developments. In all honesty, I went today to snap more pictures for the upcoming fall football preview and because work will keep me from being able to attend most of next week’s practices. So when Wells looked my way and started raising both arms above his head, my first thought was literally “Oh crap I really stepped in it.”
He noted my confusion and asked me if I knew what he was doing, repeating the motion. I could tell some reference was flying way, way over my head. I’ve been around USU a few years, but Wells and I don’t have much of a rapport yet. Is he messing with me? Does he think I’m messing with him?
My Arkansas hat.
Shoot.
Wells caught sight of my Arkansas Razorbacks hat and was calling in the hogs. I had to explain that while I did in fact serve an LDS mission in Arkansas, I was really more in Oxford and Memphis than anywhere else down there. My parents bought me the hat before I left.
He laughed and gave me a fist-bump, but he probably still thinks I’m an idiot — and deservedly so. I’m confident that even if I accomplish everything I set out to do as a sports writer in my next 20-30 years, there are two things I will never, ever live down:
- Failing to recognize Wells — an Oklahoma guy — calling in the hogs
- Not snapping a photo of Wells doing this
Coach, if you’re reading this, I promise I do know a few things about football. And with that personal anecdote out of the way, here are today’s quotes and reactions:
Matt Wells on today’s practice: “We had good tempo today and it was probably the longest practice of the year,” said Wells. “We have tomorrow off and I thought the guys came back out today and did a good job.”
On P Aaron Dalton’s big day: “Aaron Dalton stood out to me,” said Wells. “He was bombing punts today, and he will have a good season, I’m excited about him.”
On the solid stable of RBs at his disposal: “I’m not going to comment on the O-line or D-line yet, because this is not real football for them,” said Wells. “The best position group was the running backs. It’s not 100 percent, and they know who they are, but there are at least three, maybe four running backs who are performing at a high level.”
Totally subjective takeaways:
— Rayshad Lewis just keeps doing his thing. For being a new guy he sure does seem to have all the potential to satisfy the hype around him, which is a rarity in any sport. Would love to see him line up toward the sideline in a trips formation and get a chance to show his speed. What team couldn’t use a reliable slot guy?
— Sophomore safety Gaje Ferguson had two interceptions today, including a 30-yard pick-6 in 11-on-11 drills. Anyone forcing turnovers on the back end gets a mention this early in camp, admittedly due in part to the lack of more intriguing developments, but also because hey — remember how Jalen Davis just kind of appeared out of nowhere without any press of any kind? You just never know who will surprise you.
— No combination of quarterback and wideout seemed to connect on a long pass today, but three or four passes came awfully close. You can take this one of two ways — inexperience at the receiver spot might plague the team this year, or perhaps timing is already improving incrementally just two days into camp but isn’t quite there yet. I’d take the more optimistic outlook in this scenario.
— Byers just about hauled in two overthrown balls today. I’d count one as a drop, the other was simply out of reach no matter what he did.
— Unga and Taufua swatted down a pair of passes in 11-on-11s with volleyball-spike levels of authority.
— A lot of bad snaps today. A lot.
— Two ladies brought their dogs onto the practice field and did not bring doggie bags. Let’s just say there was an immediate need for doggie bags. No word yet on if anyone’s told the coaching staff, or who these ladies were. These are the hot takes you get when you attend every practice.