Great Day Yesterday

Aug 8, 2019, 1:04 PM

Yesterday was a great day. One of my grandsons had made arrangements through Tracy Swinney to attend yesterday's Tiger practice. So, me, my son-in-law and grandson made our way over to the indoor practice facility where it all began. One of the first persons we met was Jeff Duncan, our district US Congressman for a short "howdy do". The guys were limbering up and doing some one-on-one blocking and other stuff that made my old body feel their pain. Met a couple of the Kelly brothers who played during the '60's and '70's and we chatted throughout the afternoon about the "old days".

Tracy Swinney ushered us about and then we ran into Don Munson and chatted all during the practice. After completing the indoor session, the players moved to the outdoor field where the real head knocking took place. Joe Bostic's son came over and we chatted for quite awhile. He brought me a chair and a bottle of water. A couple of the players saw the WW2 Veteran cap I was wearing and came over to thank me for my service. Toward the end of the practice, Dabo came over and gave me a special greeting.

Now, with all of the preliminaries out of the way, I know you guys and gals are more interested in what we have wearing Tiger uniforms. First , let me confirm what you already know, this team has some serious talent. Lawrence is Lawrence, Brice is still Brice and P..... needs a bit more practice but he is coming along. A lot of my view was blocked by players standing on the sideline and with so many players moving in and off the field, an amateur, such as me, is not capable of determining the finer points in a practice situation. Our two freshmen WRs, Ngata and Ladson are awesome. We already know about Ross and Higgins. Overton and Powell both looked good.

Dukes is going to be better than I had imagined. Etn is still No. 1 RB but Dixon is going to get his carries, he has a high speed gear. I was busy talking and my view was blocked so I missed seeing a play where there was a little extra physical activity. The scrimmage was stopped and the entire D had to do push-ups. My grandson gave me an update on that extra bit of excitement. One thing I saw in the scrimmage was our DB's challenging the WRs at the line of scrimmage. For the most part our DBs have the size, strength and speed to be a strong unit. They still need to work on their technique there was several calls for pass interference.

The O & D lines? The size and talent is there but most of the time my view was blocked so I did not have an opportunity to really see them in action. I am definitely not capable of giving a valid opinion of the finer points of the players but I try not to put tool much orange tint in my glasses. With that in mind I believe it's going to be a fun year for all Tiger fans. And another amazing fact, many of the best players on this team are sophomores and freshmen. With another amazing class coming in next year, just imagine what the future holds for Tiger fans.

Message was edited by: Joe21®