QB's Will Be a Hit (Or Hit)

No. 1 draft pick Milan Williams (r) is congratulated by GM Dan Cook.
The White team has claims on being No. 1.
The Green team may have something to say about that.

They'll Shed the Red
By Bruce Wood
www.biggreenalert.com

Hanover -- Saturday's Green-White Scrimmage sounded like fun before. Now it sounds like, well, almost like ... a game.

"The QB's came to me the other day and said, 'Coach, we'd really like to go live,' " Buddy Teevens explained Thursday. "I said, `Well ...'

"And they said, 'No, we'd really like to do it.' So I said, 'OK, have at it.' "

All of which means the quarterbacks will "shed the red" vests, making them fair game to be tackled and giving them the opportunity to pull the ball down and run.

"We'll find out about some guys," Teevens said with the semi-wicked grin he's worn ever since revealing the Green-White would be an intrasquad game rather than a controlled scrimmage. "We'll see if Fritzy (Mike Fritz) and (Tom) Bennewitz can make a play. We'll see if Josh (Cohen) makes some intelligent decisions with the ball.

"We'll have a quick whistle on some occasions but if it's a clear rusher, the guy's got to make the sack. It's gonna be fun."

The down side, of course, is that the potential for injury to the quarterback will increase. The up side is that so will the regard their teammates have for the signalcallers.

"I'll be nervous all afternoon but that's how it goes," Teevens admitted. "But I was of the same mindset years and years ago. You are a football player. I do think it will increase the respect the guys have for them."

ROSTER MOVES No, not that roster. The Green and White rosters. Because of an imbalance in the tackle allocation, Rich Cummings has been shifted to the Green team. Thanks to some nifty drafting, tight ends Brett Lowe and Mark Brogna were both on the same squad but they've now been split up. As for who went where, tune in Saturday.

DIAMOND GEMS After the final pitch of Thursday's baseball game against Boston College, Teevens noted that two of Bob Whalen's players will be on Memorial Field Saturday.
"(Kyle) Cavanaugh and (Jason) Blydell were drafted," he said with a laugh. "They weren't present for the draft but their names popped up. They've practiced with us on Mondays so they should be ready to go."

ON TAP FRIDAY "We'll have green and white jerseys on and the teams will work against themselves," Teevens said. "We'll divide the coaching staff. They have one innovative play they can put in on either side. I'll be anxious to see how it goes. Everybody is charged up about it."

BRAGGING RIGHTS It was clear as Thursday's practice wrapped up that excitement was in the air and it wasn't just that spring practice is winding down.

"It was interesting to see," Teevens said. "There was an added edge, especially at the end of practice. The guys were talking a little smack. The guys are really excited about it.

"They have it all handicapped. They are talking a bunch about it. It's fun to do something different. The weather is going to be pretty good and we're hoping with a bunch of folks and parents on campus we can have a good turnout. I expect to see is a bunch of guys flying around making plays on both sides of the ball. Bragging rights are at stake between classmates, teammates, offense-defense, coaches."

MORE THAN BRAGGING RIGHTS Said Teevens: "The way it's broken down, everybody will play and they'll play a fair amount. We told the guys we're going to evaluate it thoroughly and grade it out. Guys who show well, it will be a plus for them going into the preseason period. We expect them all to play well."

THURSDAY'S SESSION With practice moved back a day, closer to the Green-White, Teevens called something of an audible. "We were planning to scrimmage but with the proximity of the weekend deal we opted not to. We did some regular progression without full contact. Then we divided the teams up so they could practice with the guys they'll actually play with."

WORTH NOTING As he often does, Teevens found a few players to single out after Thursday's session.

"Josh Cohen has been more consistent with his throws," the coach said. "(Converted tailback) Julian Collins is off injured reserve and seeing his cuts a little better. (Wide receiver) Zack Cable is showing he's understanding more and more what he's doing. (Fullback) Ryan Mahoney, same situation. It's a chance to get in and show what he can do. Same with (tight end) Donald Bly. We'll see under duress what they are capable of doing. I think we'll be pleasantly surprised at how the guys step up.

"On the defensive side, Max Copello has been very strong. Rehan Muttalib is coming along. Johari Wiggins is showing some progress at linebacker as is Steve Hunt at the cover corner spot. Casey Frost continues to improve the more snaps he plays. Corey Goff, same thing."