Ho-Hum Day
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Tyrone Willingham held his first daily meeting with the media Wednesday and there was little to report. He said there was no further news on the four players trying to gain academic eligibility, and no news on any position switches. Willingham mentioned three players – quarterback Carl Bonnell, linebacker Dan Howell and defensive end Greyson Gunheim – as guys who stood out during the first day of practice. Willingham also said that safety Darin Harris (back), kicker Ryan Perkins (knee) and cornerback Josh Okoebor (knee) would join the team when school begins. None are likely to play this season.
I talked to Marcel Reece for a time Wednesday and he seems like a nice guy. But when I first saw him and didn’t realize who he was, I figured him for an offensive lineman. The guy is huge, probably about 250 pounds, about 25-35 pounds more than the average big wide receiver. He reminded me of Daunte Culpepper, a guy who doesn’t fit the physical description of what you expect from a guy at that position. But Willingham said as long as he can perform at his weight, it doesn’t matter what his size is. Reece said he’d like to get down to around 225 pounds. By the way, he says he was 190 as a high school senior and then just started putting on weight.
Also talked to Shelton Sampson and Jake Locker. As I’ve found both of them to be in the past, they were both very polite and engaging. Sampson seems to understand that he made a mistake in leaving the team last year and seems truly thankful to be given a second chance, especially back at running back. Locker is an engaging guy, intelligent, you can see he’s going to make an excellent leader. He said the play book is “overwhelming” and said he’s going to spend the year simply learning it, and seems OK with redshirting if that’s what happens. He laughed when asked about playing another position and made it pretty clear that returning kicks in the Pac-10 is not something he’d be real interested in doing.
This didn’t get in the paper the other day, so here’s an early look at what appears to be the two-deep, something that could change between now and tomorrow morning:
Offense
Quarterback: Isaiah Stanback, Carl Bonnell
Running back: Kenny James, Louis Rankin
Fullback: Mark Palaita, Luke Kravitz
Wide receiver: Sonny Shackelford, Corey Williams
Wide receiver: Anthony Russo, Cody Ellis
Tight end: Michael Gottlieb, Robert Lewis
Left tackle: Ben Ossai, Morgan Rosborough
Left guard: Stanley Daniels, William Kava
Center: Juan Garcia, Ryan Bush
Right guard: Clay Walker, Casey Bulyca
Right tackle: Chad Macklin, Erik Burglund
Defense
Defensive end: Daniel Te’o-Nesheim, Darrion Jones
Defensive tackle: Donny Mateaki, Jordan Reffett
Defensive tackle: Wilson Afoa, Erick Lobos
Defensive end: Greyson Gunheim, Brandon Ala
Linebacker: Dan Howell, Scott White
Linebacker: Tahj Bomar, Trenton Tuiasosopo
Linebacker: Chris Stevens, E.J. Savannah
Cornerback: Dashon Goldson, Jordan Murchison
Cornerback: Roy Lewis, Matt Fountaine
Strong safety: C.J. Wallace, Jason Wells
Free safety: Mesphin Forrester, Durrell Moss
Kicker: Michael Braunstein, Michael Book
Punter: Sean Douglas, Michael Book
