YOUR 2012 Linfield Wildcats officaly kicked off the season yesterday with their 1st full day at the 'Catdome. The 'Cats day was packed full of football from 8 A.M all the way into the night when the team broke up from their 1st full fledged practice (helmets only). Earlier in the morning the team was put though a virtual cornucopia of testing (agility, 40 yard dash, strength tests, etc) to gauge players fitness levels and to make sure they're cleared physically for the season.
The middle chunk of the day was largely informational as 'Cats had their 1st official team meeting of the season to talk about the expectations of fall camp and the season which was followed by lunch. Then, it was classroom work as the team broke out in position groups for a little under 2 hours to dive into the 'Cats vast playbooks.
After a short pool workout and dinner the 'Cats wrapped up their day with an uptempo two hour practice. This was a first chance to check out the progress of the returners as well as get glimpses of our newest 'Cats. I didn't have a hard number but there were probably about 145-150 players on the Maxwell Field turf last night. There will probably be about another 10 more joining the team tomorrow as Freshmen had the option of officially reporting today (a number of Freshmen opted to come early).
Items that jumped out at me right away:
-Increased numbers and depth on the defensive line. The 'Cats have a number of high quality returners on the defensive front, a good mix of vets, and a large batch of talented incoming players. The present and future is bright for the 'Cats defensive front.
-Offensive line fitness. There are a group of program vets that are looking to break into starting or rotation rolls that look like they put in some serious work this spring and summer. That was a great sign on day one on where this group could go.
-Lots of potential with the defensive backs. This is a huge camp for the Wildcat secondary. Just watching them drill and work together there isn't a single doubt about their potential as a group. The good news for them is they get to face a top flight WR and QB crew everyday to work towards the season.
-Be excited about the Wildcat linebackers. If this group keeps grounded and working hard they have the potential to be dominate.
-Mickey Inns looks in charge. The 'Cats signal caller looks very sharp entering his senior season. Velocity looks improved, had a command of the offense that you see right away, and is in sync with his receivers. Along with Mickey, there are 5 other QB's in camp. Josh Yoder also looks to have made marked improvement from last season. He was very crisp during skelly session and looks to have put in a lot of work. Overall, the QBs looked to be a polished group.
Due to the way camp is set up from Monday - Friday, I won't be able to get to the 'Catdome to watch/video a practice until this weekend. I'll post up a video tomorrow on yesterday's Skelly Session and will try to bring you other tidbits during the week. I didn't get to spend very much time with the WRs or Running Backs but will make a point on focusing on them this weekend.
If you're a twitter person and love the 'Cats then do yourself a favor and follow our twitter feed. (www.twitter.com/catdomealumni) There are extras on there you don't get from the blog and from our Facebook page. If you tweet about the 'Cats make sure you use hashtag "Catdome" (#catdome) in your tweets.
Keep coming back this week as I'll be giving you some extra videos and posts that will be packed full of 'Catdome goodness.
1 comment:
To bad Joe got rid of the 10 240's for time...
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