New Mexico
The Lobo spring game is this Saturday at 1pm and will be broadcast online. The Lobo defense is looking to get better with the 4-3 defense:
"We needed to improve our familiarity with the scheme (4-3)," said (Coach) Mallory. "The improvement there is almost natural because this is the second year in the system. Things are going at a quicker pace than a year ago."
The first scrimmage had some big plays and Coach Locksely was pleased in what he saw:
"I thought both sides of the ball played well today," said Lobo head coach Mike Locksley. "The defense has had two great practices, and I liked the way the defensive line pushed us on short yardage. Offensively, we started off pretty well but struggled down the stretch. We got inconsistent late and turned the ball over. That is something we haven't had issues with this spring. We need to get that cleaned up heading into our final week. Overall, I thought we had some guys make plays today."
Oregon
The Ducks held another scrimmage this past week and the strength looks to be the offensive line:
Last year they were green, raw, inexperienced and largely written off as the weak link. Oregon's offensive line was anything but for most of 2009, and with all five starters returning, we'll be hearing a different tune for the CFB media. Rob Moseley focused on the o-line after yesterday's spring scrimmage, and notes, there's still a little rust to knock off.
ESPN's Tim Miller was at Eugune to see ow the Ducks are moving on this spring in regard to their off season struggles:
I'm not tired of answering the questions. If there is someone who should answer the questions, it should probably be me. The public has a right to know what we are thinking and our thoughts on this whole process. So I'm happy to answer those questions.
Texas Tech
This weekends scrimmage will set up for a huge week for Tech prior to the spring game:
"We’re still a ways away," Tubberville said. "A good two or three months of conditioning with the strength coaches. You know, we’ve got to do a lot of strength in the lower body, that’s why we’re having so many leg problems right now.
"We’re short on both sides of the offensive and defensive lines. But conditioning is a factor but it won’t be a factor once we get into August."
A detailed review of this past weekends scrimmage, and this excerpt just touches the top of the iceberg:
Listening to Tuberville, one can sense his attention to detail. He expects a lot out of his players and it’s obvious that they are beginning to buy in to his system and the way he coaches. One area that’s a concern to Tuberville is the pace of the game. Here’s what the head coach had to say about conditioning. "We’re still a ways away. It’s going to take a good 2-3 months of conditioning with the strength coaches. We do a lot of sled pushing and things like that because we’ve got to build a lot more strength in the lower body. That’s the reason we’re having so many leg problems right now. We’re not even close."
Texas Tech loses a few defensive players from the spring game, which will set back the new Tuberville defense:
DT Colby Whitlock and DT Myles Wade will be out of the spring game. It appears that Wade's injury is an knee injury and Collier has video of Wade on crutches, but there's really no way to tell about the severity.
While Donald Buckram was "a little sore" according to Price and missed the scrimmage for the second straight week, a stable of young running backs filled in capably. True freshman Cameron Choice paced the ground game with 14 carries for 65 yards. Choice, junior Blake Dubose and senior Jason Williams each reeled off runs for double-digit yards.