Defense Shines in Football's First Fall Scrimmage
8/14/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 14, 2010
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WACO, Texas - Robert Griffin III's knee injury kept him from developing much of a special connection with redshirt freshman receiver Lanear Sampson last season.
But during a 90-minute scrimmage on Saturday, the duo looked like they've been playing together their whole lives, hooking up for a diving 34-yard catch by Sampson for the day's only touchdown.
"Me and Robert just kind of looked at each other, because I wasn't really supposed to run that route," said Sampson, a sophomore from Mesquite, Texas, who finished with 48 yards on three catches. "It's just good having him out here and getting on the same page with Robert. I know Robert's got an arm, so I was just trying to go get the ball."
On a fourth-and-4 play, head coach Art Briles said it was designed to go "underneath, but they had a walk-down coverage on it." With freshman cornerback Tyler Stephenson playing up tight in man-to-man coverage, Sampson simply ran by him down the left sideline and hauled in the TD pass near the back of the end zone.
"The corner was pressed up on him, so (Sampson) really couldn't get where he needed to go," said Griffin, who was 16-of-23 for 166 yards with one TD and one interception in leading the first-team offense to three scores.
"After I came off the first read, I saw he was halfway down the field and I just threw it up there and let him go get it."
With starting running back Jay Finley held out with an ankle injury that required off-season surgery, the Bears weren't able to establish a consistent running game in the scrimmage (106 yards on 28 total attempts). But junior Terrance Ganaway and redshirt freshman Glasco Martin both ripped off nice runs, combining for 57 yards on just eight carries.
"Of course I want to score every play. So if you're not doing that, you don't feel good," Briles said. "But I thought we ran the ball reasonably well at times and connected on two or three pretty good pass plays. I thought we were a little bit leg-weary, drug just a little bit today. But when you look at it and think that we've gone 11 of the last 12 days, it shouldn't be (surprising). We just weren't as crisp as we felt like we could be, both sides of the ball."
Sophomore quarterback Nick Florence, who ended up starting seven of the last nine games after Griffin's injury a year ago, was 13-of-18 for 97 yards. Working with the third-team offense, redshirt freshman Brody Trahan was 5-of-6 for 45 yards.
Freshman Antwan Goodley had a couple drops early, but finished as the leading receiver with four catches for 23 yards. Sampson, Travis McClain, Levi Norwood and Josh Gordon each had three receptions, while returning starter Kendall Wright made a great diving catch and finished with two for 23 yards in limited action.
"We know what (Wright) can do. We needed to see some of these other guys in this type of atmosphere," Briles said. "It's going to be interesting to watch (the receivers) throughout the season, because we've got a lot of guys that can make plays."
On the defensive side, junior tackle Tracy Robertson had two of the team's five sacks. Cornerback Chance Casey was the leader with five tackles, while linebacker Elliott Coffey and strong safety Byron Landor each had four stops.
"It's crazy," said Coffey, who switched from jersey No. 37 to No. 4 this season because it makes him look faster. "You watch the film, and not to compare anything to last year, but you can see it. We're just filling the gaps. They snap the ball, we read run right away, and we're downhill. It just looks good, feels good."
The Bears will take Sunday off before resuming camp with workouts at 2:45 p.m. Monday and 10:15 a.m. Tuesday.
SCRIMMAGE STATISTICS
Scoring
Lanear Sampson 34 pass from Robert Griffin III (Aaron Jones kick)
Aaron Jones 50 FG
Aaron Jones 27 FG
Ben Parks 20 FG
Passing
Robert Griffin III 16-23-166-1-1 TD; Nick Florence 13-18-97-0-0 TD; Brody Trahan 5-6-45-0-0 TD; Bryce Petty 2-6-14-0-0 TD
Rushing
Terrance Ganaway 4-35; Glasco Martin 4-22; Isaac Williams 8-19; Nick Florence 2-10; Evan Hearn 3-8; Jarred Salubi 2-7; Robert Griffin III 3-4; Brody Trahan 2-1.
Receiving
Antwan Goodley 4-23; Krys Buerck 3-61; Lanear Sampson 3-48 TD; Travis McClain 3-29; Levi Norwood 3-26; Josh Gordon 3-10; Kendall Wright 2-23; Darius Jones 2-20; Jarred Salubi 2-19; Stacy Williams 2-15; Thomas Draper 2-12; Terrance Williams 2-9; Jerod Monk 2-7; Lucas Allison 1-8; Tevin Reese 1-6; Willie Jefferson 1-6
Tackles
Chance Casey 5, Elliot Coffey 4; Byron Landor 4; Romie Blaylock 3; Antareis Bryan 3; Rodney Chadwick 3; Tevin Elliot 3; Bryce Hager 3; Sam Holl 3; Gary Mason Jr. 3; Earl Patin 3; Tracy Robertson 3; Chris Francis 2; Antwan Goodley 2; Prince Kent 2; LeQuince McCall 2; Matt Ritchey 2; Jeramie Roberts 2; Phil Taylor 2; Ahmad Dixon 1; Mike Hicks 1; Nicolas Jean-Baptiste 1; Ahmad Jenkins 1; Antonio Johnson 1; Aaron Lorick 1; Clifton Odom 1; Tyler Pratt 1; Reggie Rice 1; Sean Watson 1.
Sacks
Tracy Robertson 2; Tevin Elliot; Aaron Lorick; Sean Watson.
Interceptions
Prince Kent 1
Punting
Derek Epperson 3-45.0; Ben Parks 1-36.0
Field Goals
Aaron Jones 2-4 (Long 50) Ben Parks 1-1 (Long 20)
HEAD COACH Art Briles POST-SCRIMMAGE QUOTES
Opening Statement:
"The fans came out and brought some excitement and momentum to us. I thought we were a little bit leg-weary, drug just a little bit today, which is a little surprising to me. But then when you look at it and think we've gone 11 out of the last 12 days, it shouldn't be.
We weren't quite as crisp as we felt like we could be, both sides of the ball. We missed a chip-shot field goal, which shouldn't happen. But everything else, I think, was pretty good. Effort was good, we moved around, hustled to the ball defensively, and looked like the tempo was pretty good offensively."
On quarterback Robert Griffin III:
"I think it was good for him. I think anytime you get in these live atmospheres, get a few people around and the pace increases, then I think your body starts working toward that. The thing that we've got to remember is that it's been a while since he's been in this type of atmosphere. And I thought he did remarkably well today.
We'll evaluate and see if everything he saw is what really happened. And then we'll look at what we can do to improve his high percentage for production. Because that's what it's all about at that position is being productive with the football every snap."
On the offense as a whole:
"We were just OK. Of course I want to score every play. So if you're not doing that, you don't feel good. But I think there were some good things. I thought we ran the ball reasonably well at times and connected on two or three pretty good pass plays."
On how good can the receiving corps be:
"I think they can be really good. Now, I've thought that all along. For us to be great, they're all going to have to really sacrifice and be very unselfish and really push each other to be the best that they can be. We do have a talented group of receivers and we're really deep at that position. It's going to be interesting to watch them throughout the season, because we've got a lot of guys that can make plays. And really, Kendall just went six plays today total. So he's a guy that we'll hold through camp till we get to the first game."
