UB Football Camp - Day 14

With only 12 days until the 2007 season kicks off at Rutgers, the Bulls held their second scrimmage of camp on Saturday night and their first under the lights at UB Stadium. It was a controlled scrimmage in full pads.

Here are a few highlights from the scrimmage:

Todd Robertson recovered a fumble and scampered 20 yards for a touchdown on the opening play of the scrimmage.

Drew Willy found freshman tight end Aaron Connacher for a 15-yard gain at the end of which he plowed over Kendric Hawkins for a couple extra yards. Connacher, working with the first team, caught all three balls thrown to him.

Lackawanna-native Marcus Rivers hauled in a one-handed catch from Zack Ingle that gained 36 yards down the sideline. It set up a 29-yard field goal by A.J. Principe in the closing seconds of the half. Principe was 2-for-2 in field goal attempts as he also connected on a 42-yarder.

Willy connected with Ernest Jackson in stride for a 34-yard gain along the sideline for his longest pass of the night.

Willy found Brett Hamlin across the middle for a 25-yard gain.

Mario Henry was one of the players that stood out the most on offense. The sophomore running back had runs of 25 and 15 yards and also caught a screen pass and turned up field for 15 yards before he was touched by a defender and the play was blown dead. If not for the whistle, he likely would have scored a 65-yard touchdown.

James Starks had another solid showing as he broke a couple of nice runs, but was especially effective catching passes out of the backfield.

Walk-on Raphael Akobundo made an interception inside the five-yard line to cap a goal-line stand by the defense.

Anel Montanez had a pair of sacks as did defensive end Trevor Scott. Kevin Johnson also had a sack for the defense.

The Bulls will get a day off on Sunday before taking the field for a pair of practices on Monday.

UB Football Camp - Day 13

Friday was another day of two practices for the University at Buffalo football team as they continue to progress toward the August 30 season opener. As preparations were underway for the afternoon session, a heavy downpour hit UB’s North Campus. The weather affected preparation for practice but by the time practice had begun the rain and winds gave way to sunshine and the only evidence of the earlier showers were the puddles around the track at UB Stadium.

During this afternoon’s practice, the Bulls were without shoulder pads, working out in just shorts and helmets. The session was more of a walk-thru than a true practice, with no plays actually run during the session. As a result, there is not much to report about significant plays or players from this afternoon’s work.

The Bulls will be back on the field Saturday for a single session on the turf at UB Stadium.

UB Football Camp - Day 12

Two weeks from tonight the University at Buffalo football team will be at the birthplace of college football, Rutgers University, to begin the 2007 college football season. But today it was back to the practice field at UB Stadium for a single practice as fall camp continues on UB’s North Campus.

The running game got off to a quick start today as both Mario Henry and James Starks scampered 25 yards for touchdowns during the early period of 11-on-11 work today. The offensive line, lead by center Jamey Richard, set the stage for both plays as they opened big holes on the two touchdown runs.

During the one-on-one drills between receivers and cornerbacks, Naaman Roosevelt made a spectacular, one-handed 30-yard touchdown catch while fending off a defender. A wrinkle that was thrown into those drills today was the presence of officials. On other days, the corners could (and would) push the receivers around without anyone to officially make a pass interference call, but today with officials around, there was no doubt about what was and was not pass interference.

Later in the practice, the offensive emphasis was put on the two-minute drill. The highlight of that work was a Zack Ingle to James Starks 69-yard touchdown pass. The swing pass was executed to perfection as the offensive line and receivers provided key blocks to help pave the way for Starks to find the end zone.

Trevor Scott led the way for an attack-minded defense today as they brought the heat on the UB offense many times throughout the day.

Practice was also spiced up a bit by some work on special situations as the Bulls continue to work their way toward the August 30 season opener.

The team will be back on the practice field again for two practices tomorrow.

UB Football Camp - Day 11

The University at Buffalo football team was back on the field for two practices again Wednesday as they continue to prepare for the upcoming season. As was the case on Monday, the Bulls were outfitted in full pads for the morning session and shorts during the afternoon practice.

If there is such a thing as the “dog days” of football camp, the Bulls would be in the midst of them. Having been in camp for just under two weeks and with just over two weeks to go until the season opener, the light on both ends of the tunnel seems far away.

During 11-on-11 drills this afternoon, the Bulls spent a significant amount of time working in the red zone. The highlight of that work was a Zack Ingle to Ernest Jackson 13-yard fade route for a touchdown. Ingle also showed good mobility on a roll-out pass when he found Aaron Connacher for eight yards. When the Bulls were not working in the red zone, Ed Young found Gary Rice on a 30-yard pass play that would have put the offensive unit on the two-yard line had they been running through drives at the time.

Mario Henry made perhaps the most notable run of the day when he dashed around the left side of the line for a 15-yard gain. James Starks also made a number of shifty runs throughout the day.

Ronald Hilaire, Kareem Byrom and Todd Robertson found their way to the quarterback this afternoon. Freshman Domonic Cook made one interception in the end zone and may have had another. Although on his leaping effort on the second one it appeared as though he probably came down out-of-bounds. Kendric Hawkins also had a notable day defensively.

Turner Gill’s charges will be back on the field for one practice on Thursday afternoon as they continue to work toward the season opener at Rutgers.

UB Football Camp - Day 10

The Bulls took to the field at UB Stadium on Tuesday morning for a single practice before participating in media day activities during the afternoon. The players were outfitted in full pads for the day’s single-session. Besides the obvious noise coming from the field during practice, the sound of drilling was also very common throughout the morning workout as crews continued work on the new fascia boards being installed at UB Stadium.

The offense was sharp right from the start of practice this morning as quarterback Drew Willy found Naaman Roosevelt all alone for a 25-yard touchdown on the second play of 11-on-11 work.

After the individual position work and special teams drills, the offense again came out firing during the second 11-on-11 period. Willy connected with tight end Jesse Rack for 18 yards on the first play of the period. That drive stalled, but only after a would-be 18-yard pass play from Willy to Roosevelt was incomplete. Had officials been part of today’s practice however the play may have been called pass interference.

Mike Newton and Josh Copeland both recorded interceptions during today’s practice while freshman defensive back Joshua Thomas also had a good day. Defensive lineman Ronald Hilaire also recorded a sack during today’s session.

This afternoon, the helmets and pads were replaced by cameras and reporters as the Bulls took part in the annual media day events. Along with talking to reporters, the players had still photos taken that will be used in the game programs and were also filmed for use on the new videoboard being installed at UB Stadium.

The UB football team will return to the field on Wednesday for two practices as preparations for the 2007 season and the August 30 opener at Rutgers continue.

UB Football Camp - Day 9

After a day off from on-field activity, the University at Buffalo football team took to the field twice Monday, marking the first two-a-day of fall camp. During today’s morning practice the Bulls wore full pads while during the afternoon the team worked out in shorts with shoulder pads and helmets

Today during the special teams work, assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett had the quarterbacks working on throwing to a spot. Barrett had a trash can placed in the back corner of the end zone, in both the left and right corners, while the quarterbacks were in the middle of the field at the five-yard line. Each of the quarterbacks had success working this drill, including Naaman Roosevelt who continues to work with both the quarterback and receivers at various times during practice.

During 11-on-11 work today, two players that stood out were freshman receivers Marcus Rivers and Terrell Jackson. Rivers is a tall receiver who is able to use his size to his advantage while Jackson’s best asset is his quickness. Also, Brett Hamlin continues to be a favorite target no matter who is under center.

Another new feature today during practice was multiple 7-on-7 or 11-on-11 drills going on at once. While this may help the coaching staff get in twice at much work at one time, it makes watching and trying to blog about things more difficult. While trying to watch plays occur on both ends of the field, a couple of the notable plays included: a 40-yard Drew Willy to Ernest Jackson pass play and a 40-yard Ed Young to Terrance Breaux connection.

Of note defensively were interceptions by Fred Branch and Andre Evans, while Dane Robinson also had a good day along the defensive front.

Tuesday, the Bulls will practice in the morning at UB Stadium before participating in the annual media day festivities during the afternoon.