After a long and grueling fall practice schedule, it's time to find out what our veterans and freshmen alike have learned, and maybe in the process some of the depth chart will shake out. Previous iterations of this process in recent years have generally been dominating defensive displays, but due to increased depth and better line play on the other side of the ball, it shouldn't be too much to hope for a change of pace even without Prince.
Just as a reminder, scrimmage is at 5 PM at Drake, and while we'd like to encourage action shots and reports from you all, who have done a fantastic job thus far this year, it's worth going back to what CRN has to say about it:
"We'd appreciate if everybody would leave their video cameras home," he said. "Just come and have fun. Obviously things get on You Tube and all that and we're trying to get our team ready to play and so forth."
I believe there's some precedent here on BN with video coverage, and there hasn't been a problem with shooting already developed plays, but nevertheless we'd like to urge everyone to just be cautious and keep this in mind. Last thing we'd want to do is hurt the team right?
While I was thoroughly unimpressed with the Kevin Prince coverage from the LAT a couple of days ago, I figured I'd give credit where credit is due on a great article about Sean Sheller's road back from what sounds like a gruesome injury two years ago. That accident was a pretty big blow to an already reeling OL unit back in 08. During his recovery, it sounds like he gained some useful perspective:
"I was into feeling sorry for myself," Sheller says. "Then something clicked. It was time to take responsibility for my actions.
"I looked at myself and asked, 'What kind of person are you? Are you a person who will crumble under all this, or are you going to rise from the ashes and become somebody?' "
I can't help but go back to last year and wonder how many of our guys came to that same realization when we dropped five games in a row. It's the kind of perspective the team will need going forward this season as well, because I don't think anyone's naive enough to believe that there won't be trying times this year.
Going back to today's scrimmage, it's a given that we'll see plenty of Richard Brehaut in Prince's absence, and how he handles the pressure will be a big storyline, and that pressure is something CRN will also be taking a good look at.
"You want to know how they'll respond. There will be people there, there will be fans, there will be added excitement. Can they block all that out and still focus and play? That's all part of the game."
We've heard great things so far about a lot of our freshmen, like Dietrich Riley who has been delivering thunderous hits in practice. We've also heard many positive things about Anthony Barr, Malcolm Jones, and of course, redshirt freshman Ricky Marvray to name a few. It'll be especially interesting to see what happens to these less experienced guys when the lights are on and the coaches aren't in their ears.
Needless to say it's an exciting time not just for the players but also for us fans, and I hope all of you Bruin fans in the LA area will be able to make it.