March 25, 2011
Spring Blog | Coach Dykes on Practice Intensity Level and Quarterback Competition
RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech's football team practiced in shells for less than two hours Friday afternoon on the Tech practice fields in preparation for the team's second scrimmage of the spring on Saturday.
Saturday's session starts at 10 a.m. with a few drills before going into a full scrimmage that is expected to last approximately 100 plays. Held at Joe Aillet Stadium, the scrimmage is open to the public free of charge and will be the last scrimmage before the T-Day Spring Game set for Saturday, April 2 at 2 p.m.
"We had another good spirited workout," said head coach Sonny Dykes. "I thought we got a lot of stuff done even though we cut it a little short today since we are going to scrimmage tomorrow. I really like the way we are practicing. I think we have turned the corner in understanding how important it is to come out and practice at a fast tempo. I like what we have done so far. I can only think of one practice that I have been disappointed in; the rest of them have been good. We just have to keep building, keep refining our craft, working hard and getting things done. If we can do that, I think we will be in a really good spot."
As the team enters the second scrimmage and the final five practices of the spring, the quarterback competition that started out so wide open has started to whittle down to two or three of the contenders. Colby Cameron has stepped out to be the leader while Zach Griffith and Taylor Burch battle for the second spot on the depth chart. Cameron was 24-for-31 with four touchdown passes Friday while Burch was 4-for-7 with one touchdown pass. Griffith ended the day 2-for-4.
"We are kind of working Zach [Griffith] and Taylor [Burch] right now but Taylor, the last couple of days, has stepped up a little bit," Dykes explained. "He is playing at a high level. I think Zach has had a little bit of arm issues with some soreness. The great thing about Taylor is that he is a big, strong guy and you can't really bother his arm. He could come out here and throw 1,000 balls for 100 days in a row and it wouldn't bother him. That allows him to get out there and get a lot more reps and the more reps he gets, the better he gets."
For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.
