As the regular season approaches, practices are starting to get more intense. Over the past week the Aggies have started practicing in full pads, and today they will hold two practices.
The first-team offense, especially the receiving corps, continued to shine as Braelon Roberts, Rayshad Lewis, and Gerold Bright all got shout out's from Coach Wells. Junior wideout Ethan Cortazzo also received Tuesday's "Offensive Player of the Day" honors after catching two touchdown passes during 11-on-11 red zone drills.
The receivers weren't the only players to step up on offense, though, running backs LaJuan Hunt and Devante Mays both shined this week. Each back shined in their own way, Hunt scored on a pair of short runs in the red zone, while Mays averaged about 6 yards a carry against a tough Utah State defense.
The defense also played well, and defensive end Edmund Faimalo came up big. On Monday he batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage, caught it in midair, and returned it for a pick-six.
Faimalo also came up with a couple of sacks on Tuesday. Daniel Grey and Gaje Ferguson also came up with some great defensive plays, but they did not come up with as many interceptions as they did last week.
Overall, Coach Wells was very satisfied with the way the first team offense played, and the way the first and second team defense played, but the second team offense left something to be desired.
Wells said that the second team offense "stunk", and also had concerns about leadership on his team. He wants more consistency from each side of the ball. While Wells says the intensity he wants is there on both sides of the ball nobody is consistently putting up big numbers, and to Wells, that's what makes a leader.
It will be interesting to see if anyone steps up by the end of camp. The Aggies will hold their first closed scrimmage on Saturday.