Defense Dominates in First Memphis Scrimmage
August 17, 2010
MEMPHIS --- Head coach Larry Porter took the Tigers through their first full-scale scrimmage Tuesday morning at the Murphy Athletic Complex for their 10th practice of fall camp. The closed scrimmage featured approximately 72 plays and had multiple sessions of special teams worked into the schedule. Porter expressed discontent with the offense but was pleased with the tempo and attitude of the defense. "It (the scrimmage) was totally dominated by the defense," said Porter. "I like what I saw with the defense. It wasn't one particular guy. They played extremely well as a unit. You didn't see many busts, which is what you want. "Offensively, it was a little bit sloppy," added Porter. "We have to correct some of those mistakes. We have to get better in that area and we have to get some guys back on the field as well. That should solve some of our issues offensively. We had dropped balls, fumbles, too many turnovers, too many self-inflicted wounds." While there were no interceptions in today's scrimmage, there were a couple of fumbles, including one that was scooped up by Lester Lawson early in the scrimmage. Lawson also batted down a pass at the line and assisted on a sack with Charlie Bryant. A couple of other key defensive plays included a TFL, a sack and a batted-down pass by Frank Trotter, as well as two sacks by Ricky Holloway and a sack by Justin Thompson. In addition, the secondary was flying around all over the field, led by Darius Davis, who posted three pass breakups, including one in the end zone. Marcus Ball and D.A. Griffin both had breakups as well. Cannon Smith of Olive Branch and Ryan Williams handled the snaps today. When asked about how the quarterbacks did, Porter again reiterated that the offense really struggled to find consistency today. "I don't think at this point anyone has an edge," said Porter. "We played sloppy on offense today and they (the QBs) are just as guilty as anyone else. The whole deal has been inconsistency. “One day, one guy looks good and the next day the other guy looks good. It is a battle going back and forth, but you would like it to be one single guy every day. That is what we are shooting for." Porter continued to stress that he would name a starting quarterback the Monday prior to Memphis' opening game against Mississippi State, which is Sept. 4 at 6 p.m. CT on ESPNU in Starkville. A couple of key offensive plays included a 20-yard run by Gregory Ray and a nine-yard run by Marcus Hightower. Smith's longest pass completion was a 14 yarder to Delmon Robinson. Williams had a couple of big completions, including strikes of 31 and 15 yards to transfer Andrew Ene-Ita. He also completed a 17-yard pass to fellow freshman Reggie Travis and a 20 yarder to Robinson. Deven Onarheim also hauled in two short yardage TDs from Smith and Williams. The final plays of the scrimmage were two minute drills starting at their own 40. Smith completed passes to Curtis Johnson and Marcus Rucker, and Hightower logged a nine-yard run before the drive stalled on a sack by Trotter. On the next drive, Williams piloted an eight-play drive that resulted in a four-yard TD pass to Cam Baker. Porter indicated that he would like to scrimmage on Saturday and then maybe one additional time by the end of camp. The Tigers will have two-a-day sessions on Wednesday and Friday, and single sessions on Thursday and Saturday. "This is the week that I pointed at to grow this team," said Porter. "As far as defense, I think we are right on schedule or ahead, on special teams we are headed in the right direction. The offense just needs to play catch up right now. Once we get some guys back, we will make tremendous strides." | 
