Spring Practice Day 13 -- The Jive
April 25, 2011
Corvallis, Ore. -
Onlookers of today's spring football practice were forced into the Truax Indoor Center whilst the wind and rain wreaked havoc beyond the doors, but they received a visual treat of high-flying catches and breakups, and an energetic defensive line.
Senior tight end Joe Halahuni broke through the defense and sped towards the endzone; junior defensive end Taylor Henry, however, refused to let him get away. Henry, known as a fast rusher, caught Halahuni before he could close the final ten yards to the endzone.
"That's kind of what we harp about is second effort--always running it down and taking pursuit angles," Henry said. "That's one thing I try to emphasize... It's easy (to let the player go), but in a game, if you let that go, there's no taking it back. That's a touchdown."
He proved it. Halahuni looked over his shoulder for most of his run. Henry also had a would-be sack on sophomore Cody Vaz, and then he broke up a pass to sophomore tailback Jovan Stevenson. He's an energetic guy, but he isn't limited to showing his talent on the field this week.
OSU is hosting its version of Dancing With the Stars on Thursday night at the LaSells Stewart Center, and Henry is one of the dancers. Believe it or not, the 6-foot 1-inch, 255-pound rusher will showcase his footwork, and he has done it before. His newest dance? The Jive.
"I've done country western dancing; I've done Salsa; I tried the Waltz just for one practice," Henry said. "The dance I'm doing now is the Jive, which is something I've never done before. It's a really fun dance--really energetic."
He said the Jive requires a lot of knee bending and jumping. Anyone who has watched him for even a moment at practice understands how well he can do both of those--the quarterbacks see it daily.
While Henry and the rest of the black-shirt attackers up front, like junior end Rusty Fernando, and seniors Dominic Glover and Kevin Frahm, were busy applying pressure on the pocket, Vaz and Co. did their best to connect with their receivers. They succeeded on multiple occasions.
Again, freshman Obum Gwatcham had more than a couple big catches. Junior Markus Wheaton, however, stole the show--easily. During seven-on-seven drills, Wheaton burned nearly every member of the defensive backfield. He's stronger--and heavier--and surprisingly quicker.
"I'm really proud of how Markus has worked, this spring," head coach Mike Riley said. "I think he's got more knowledge to go with his really good ability, and he's got confidence coming off the end of last year."
But it's not just Wheaton he is impressed with. Riley speaks with a strong confidence about all of his receivers. They have shown few weaknesses this spring.
"I'm really excited about that receiving core, in general," he said. "If he (Wheaton) keeps going like he is, James (Rodgers) gets back, and Jordan Bishop kind of fulfills that potential, that's going to be a pretty exciting group, along with the other guys that have made a lot of strides, including Obum."
Fans will get a good chance to see the Beavers' stout receiving group and the rest of the team in action this Saturday during the annual Spring Game. Events begin in Parker Plaza at 10 a.m., and the game begins at 12:15 p.m.
Note: Today was the 13th practice of the spring. The Beavers will have one more session this Wednesday afternoon, before taking two days off prior to the Spring Game. Also, junior tight end Colby Prince will likely not participate the rest of the spring session because of a sprained ankle and freshman defensive lineman Fred Thompson is out for the remainder with a shoulder injury.
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