Saturday Scrimmage Notes

A special thanks to all of those who dropped by allCanes this weekend after the Miami Football scrimmage. We hope you took advantage of the items we have on sale - marked down 10%-40% to commemorate the kickoff of spring football.

The sale will take place through April 15th and there will be a special downloadable coupon in this week's email blast worth checking out. Sign up for our UWIN contest and we'll make sure to add you to the list. Expect the blast to go out either Tuesday or Wednesday of this week.

For those of you who didn't make it to The U or allCanes this weekend, the spring scrimmage was more of the same. Defense domintated (as always) while the offense is still experiencing mild growing pains. Not really fair to expect too much out of the offense right now, though. Ryan Moore sat out practice and #2 receiver Darnell Jenkins was used sparingly. Even in limited action, Jenkins did catch a 13-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Wright.

TE Greg Olson also hauled in a a touchdown as Wright found him across the middle in the endzone during a redzone offense drill and WR Khalil Jones impressed with his 45-yard reception early in the scrimmage.

The offensive line showed some promise - with Reggie Youngblood and Anthony Wollschlager being the two standouts. Many are also praising AJ Trump and predicting big things in the future.

As for Wright, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on the day. Nothing spectacular, but still better than Kirby Freeman's performance.

Tyrone Moss is still out and recovering from knee surgery - leaving Andrew Johnson, Derron Thomas and Charlie Jones to split carries. Thomas was the most impressive of the bunch, tearing off a 30-yard touchdown up the middle - while Johnson and Jones were consistent with short yard gains.

The defense was short-handed as well with Brandon Meriweather missing spring ball due to minor shoulder surgery.

Willie Williams' bid to take over as starting weakside linebacker remains on hold as he's battling the flu and was sent home Saturday. Combine that with Jon Beason's standout performance as starting WLB and #17 has his work cut out for him as spring ball continues.

Also making a name for himself at linebacker was Daryl Sharpton, who's looking to lockdown the middle linebacker position. MLB has been a sore spot for the Canes since the departure of Jon Vilma after the 2003 season.

Miami flat out needs production out of MLB and Sharpton might be that special player the Canes are looking for. He spent the better part of the day in the offense's backfield wrapping up running backs for losses. Glenn Cook is penciled in as the starter, but don't be surprised if Sharpton owns that role come fall.

Spencer Adkins and James Bryant both showed a ton of potential and knack for making the big play - but both their physical abilties are ahead of their mental grasp of the position.

Carlos Armour was a surprise standout on Saturday with two interceptions on the day - one from each quarterback. Lovon Ponder also had an interception on the day, picking off an early Wright pass.

The Canes will be back at it this week. Tune in for more - and make to take part in allCanes' special Spring Football deals.

Go Canes!!

(Photo of Ryan Moore is courtesy of photographer and Canes enthusiast Charlie Garcia. To check out and purchase some of Charlie's stellar work, click here.)