Tyrone Willingham has started a new rewards system for his practices this year. Three players – one on offense, one on defense, on on special teams – will be allowed to wear a gold No. 1 jersey at practice due to their performance in the previous day’s practice. The first day, quarterback Carl Bonnell, linebacker Dan Howell and defensive end Greyson Gunheim were awarded the jerseys. for Thursday’s practice, Howell (special teams) and Gunheim (defense) were again awarded the jerseys, as was wide receiver Quintin Daniels. It’s a good sign for Daniels, who has missed much of the last two seasons with knee and foot injuries. Willingham said Daniels’ bulky knee brace has been replaced by a smaller one, and it’s possible he won’t need one at all during the season.
The only significant news coming out of Thursday’s press briefing was that junior defensive tackle Jordan Reffett has a sprained knee. Willingham said he thinks that the injury would keep Reffett out for about a week.
Bonnell said he is feeling good and all indications are he is ahead of Johnny DuRocher for the backup job to Isaiah Stanback, who Bonnell said is having a good camp. Bonnell said there are a lot fewer dropped passes by the receivers so far, and singled out Anthony Russo as a receiver who is doing a good job of running the right routes.
Senior linebacker Scott White, who said in an interview on Wednesday that he is considering quitting the team because he has dropped behind Howell on the depth chart, was at the team’s lunch on Thursday and was seen having a huddle with a group of coaches.
If confidence makes a kicker, expect Michael Braunstein to have a big year. I talked to him for about 10 minutes Thursday and he sounds more confident than just about any player I’ve ever interviewed. He admitted that he did not get along well with the Keith Gilbertson coaching staff and that led to a poor attitude and lack of confidence. But he says he has that straightened out and said he believes he is one of the best kickers in the country and will be a candidate for the Lou Groza Award. He said he fixed a problem he discovered with the angle he was taking on kicks from 40-50 yards and has been accurate from that distance, and said that new long snapper Danny Morovick and Bonnell as the holder are doing great getting the ball in position.
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