Wednesday will be an important step for the coaches in figuring out their depth chart, as the varsity and junior varsity will run about 170 plays in a scrimmage setting. Coaches take all the practices seriously in evaluating the roster, but the scrimmages bring out a little more intensity.

“We’ll have guys that rise, because cream tends to do that, and some guys will drop, and that happens with anchors,” Air Force coach Troy Calhoun said.

Links: If he stays healthy, I think Brian Lindsay could have a big year. He’s a versatile, valuable piece for the defense. Safety could be one of Air Force’s best positions, because Anthony Wooding is having a pretty good camp, too.

- There was a scary collision during practice when defensive backs Chris Miller and P.J. Adeji-Paul hit each other hard. Miller’s helmet came flying off and both players were down for a moment. Miller was fine and came back to practice, Adeji-Paul sat out the remainder with a hand or wrist injury. The situation could have been much worse for those two players.

- Speaking of injuries, Calhoun doesn’t like them too much. A few players were out with what should be minor injuries – running back Asher Clark, guard Jordan Eason, cornerback Anthony Wright among them – and Calhoun doesn’t want the list getting too much bigger.

“We’ll find the guys that can contribute,” Calhoun said when asked about injured players.

- Mike wanted to know in the blog comments about the defensive line, and I had been watching that position this week to give an update. Starting from the top – Zach Payne and Ryan Gardner are set as starters, which is no surprise. Harry Kehs and Ben Kopacka are very close for the starting defensive end spot opposite Payne. Defensive line coach Ron Burton said they’re virtually even. After that, it is wide open, and there’s not a lot of players with game experience for a rotation Burton hopes goes eight or nine deep.

There are a couple juniors backing up at nose tackle, Cody Miller and Nick DeJulio,  so at least there’s some maturity at the position. Burton said he has been happy with both players in camp.

At end, freshman Nick Fitzgerald, in from the prep school, has worked with the second team. Sophomore Daniel Vinson got some reps with the varsity on the third team. Ross Fleming is another veteran end who could be in the rotation.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.