Spring practice-day one
The first day of spring practice is in the books. A few highlights of an afternoon devoted to position drills and fundamentals:
>> After warmups, the entire team spent the first period of practice working on form tackling. Wednesday’s emphasis will be on shedding blocks, with turnover drills on the agenda for Saturday.
>> The quarterbacks appeared on target for the most part with Greg Alexander leading the rotation. Five-foot-eight slotback Dustin Blount made a nice leaping catch over the middle during drills.
“Now I know the offense. I’m looking at the right things, things are slowing down and I know where I want the ball to go,” he said.
>> The offensive and defensive lines got some one-on-one work, though without much contact, focusing primarily on their first step off the line.
>> Seeing some players in new numbers will take some getting used to, Leon Wright-Jackson in 23, for example. Inoke Funaki, listed as No. 2 on the spring roster, wore No. 20, switching with slotback Jon Medeiros. Jake Heun, a redshirt running back last year, is now wearing a green No. 5 and worked with the defensive ends.
>> Head coach Greg McMackin said Wednesday’s practice will be more individual and position drills. He said they’ll put the pads on for Saturday morning’s practice, which will include 7-on-7 and team periods.
>> The first units today:
Offense—WRs Greg Salas, Malcolm Lane; SBs Kealoha Pilares, Jon Medeiros; QB Greg Alexander; RB Leon Wright-Jackson; OL (from left) Aaron Kia, Ray Hisatake, John Estes, Raphael Ieru, Laupepa Letuli.
Defense—DL John Fonoti, Vaughn Meatoga, Rocky Savaiigaea, Elliott Purcell; LBs R.J. Kiesel-Kauhane, Brashton Satele, Viliami Nauahi; DBs Jeramy Bryant, Chris Black, Spencer Smith, Mana Silva.
