PM Practice: Defense atones for Tuesday miscues
Defensive coordinator Jaime Hill liked the end of Wednesday’s drills better than how Tuesday’s practice ended with the offense almost scoring at will.
Max Hall hit Michael Reed for a 10-yard touchdown pass to cap the only score in three tries in a hurry-up offensive drill to end practice and Hill said he saw progress and was pleased.
Hall finished 10 of 16 for 96 yards but the first two forays by the offense were turned back by big defensive plays including a huge knock-down of a Hall pass to Harvey Unga by Shawn Doman. B.J. Peterson couldn’t find the handle on a TD pass from Kurt McEuen as G Pittman defended on the middles series by the second defense.
“They only scored once in three tries and then, we had it covered, our guy (Scott Johnson) was right there,” said Hill.
The play of the day was a catch by freshman Spencer Hafoka, about a 20-yard pass from McEuen. On that play, Hafoka took on blanket coverage by Brandon Bradley and a safety, but the former Kahuku star exploded off the turf and rose above Bradley while hauling down a finger-tip grab. Bradley and Hafoka crashed into one another and Hafoka was slow to get up. He later returned to action.
Matt Ah You (bruised sternum) returned to practice after missing three sessions. D-lineman Ian Dulan sat out with a bruised chest. Center Tom Sorensen (shoulder) dressed up for the practice in shells (helmet and shoulder pads). We went through some drills with him and that’s all,” said O-line coach Mark Weber. “You’d have to ask him how he felt, but just looking at it, he did very well.” Jordan Pendleton (illness) missed the PM practice.
“We did better. We just need to keep battling,” said Hill. “We’re young, we’ve only got three returning starters and we understand that but those guys will good enough, we’re not concerned at all.”
Hill said his secondary has yet to take on a personality as a group but he loves their attitude and work ethic. “Right now they’re swimming. The guys who are our No. 1 guys are really trying hard. The next group down are lose and trying to figure out life.
“When they got that TD, we made the play but just couldn’t finish. That’s why we put these guys in this situation so they get experience at it, get better at it and it’s going to happen in a hurry.”
Hill said his plan for the remainder of the week is to find a two-deep. “By next week, we’ll go with those guys and the rest will move over to scout team and we’ll just get ready to play.”