Central Michigan University Athletics
Scrimmage Highlights First Day of Double Sessions
8/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT – A 45-minute, 66-play intrasquad scrimmage highlighted the first day of two-a-day practice sessions for the
Central
Michigan
University football team team on Saturday.
After a two-hour morning session, the squad returned for an afternoon workout that featured just over an hour of group and individual drills before the scrimmage session.
While the focus of the scrimmage was giving the younger members of the program a chance to play their way onto the two-deep, the coaching staff was also paying close attention to the quarterback competition. Five different signal-callers took snaps during the session, all rotating between different personnel groups.
“I thought all three of our quarterbacks (Brian Brunner, Dan LeFevour,
Duane
Brooks) at the top of the depth chart all did some really nice things today,” said head coach Brian Kelly. “That is an extremely competitive situation at that position.”
Brunner was the only one of the three to engineer a touchdown drive during the scrimmage. Working with the second offensive unit, Brunner directed a seven-play, 70-yard drive that culminated in a 14-yard touchdown pass to Allen Ollenburger. Ollenburger caught the ball in the right flat and broke a pair of tackles at the 5-yard line to reach the end zone.
Brunner was 5-for-5 for 62 yards passing on the drive, including a 13-yard completion to Darren Martin on third-and-one the play prior to the touchdown. Ollenburger caught a pair of passes on the drive.
“He is a good-looking tight end who, at 240 pounds, gives us a more physical presence at that position,” Kelly said. “He certainly gives us more bulk at the end of the line when he’s in there.”
The only other scoring on the day was a 24-yard field goal by Jonathan Mills. Dan LeFevour, guiding the No. 1 offense, directed a nine-play, 64-yard drive that led to Mills’ field goal. The biggest play of the drive was a 26-yard completion to Bryan Anderson on third-and-nine.
Anderson, running down the sideline, made the catch just before two defenders closed in for the tackle.
A pair of true freshmen stole the show in the closing moments of the scrimmage, as quarterback Mike Canfield and running back Carl Volny nearly carried the third-team offense into the end zone.
After an incompletion on the drive’s opening snap, Volny broke off the left side for 10 yards. Canfield then rolled left and connected with Jean Pitts for nine yards and kept the ball for a two-yard gain and a first down. On the next snap, Volny ran to his left, broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage, and cut back across the field for a 12-yard gain and a first down. Then, facing third-and-nine, Canfield hit Matt Torres for 11 yards and a first down. He would pick up eight more yards on a completion to Joe Bockheim at the 17-yard line, but the drive stalled there with consecutive sacks.
“Both of those guys are obviously very talented kids who physically have all the tools,” Kelly said. “In Mike’s case, I know Curt (Anes) has really been tutoring him off the field and has taken him under his wing.”
Not to be overshadowed, the CMU defense also had its moments during the scrimmage. The No. 1 defense forced the offense into a three-and-out situation on both of the first two possessions. The second possession featured a sack by Ronnie Ekdahl and Ike Brown on second down a third-down pass intended for Damien Linson that was broken up by Pacino Horne.
Camp News and Notes
The players will have Sunday morning off before returning to the practice field in the afternoon … The team will alternate daily between one and two practices per day next week … Next Saturday’s practice, slated for 9:45 a.m., is the only remaining session open to the public … CMU’s preseason media day will be Tuesday afternoon … The 2006 football media guide is now available online … Kickoff of season opener against Boston College is now less than 19 days away.
