- This was the first time that we were able to see Jeremy Mincey practice even though he had worked back in last Thursday. Mincey is projected as the starter at right end and I like what I saw with his movement and conditioning. He had a couple of nice rushes to the outside of Tyron Smith, then later worked well with Nick Hayden on a twist stunt that got him home on the rush for some pressure. He didn't appear to labor or struggle with the snaps that he was getting on the warm day. As talked about post-draft, DeMarcus Lawrence was getting the snaps behind him.
- Cornerback Terrance Mitchell has missed nine practices since he was last here for the rookie camp after the draft. To Mitchell's credit, he hit the field running and was ready to go. His work against the receivers on their release drills was solid in the way he was able to position himself off the line. Mitchell was able to carry the start of his day into the 7-on-7 period, where he lined up at right corner. No matter what player was across from him, he showed nice quickness along with the ability to adjust as the route was going up the field. He played with a great deal of comfort both mentally and physically. He appeared to have a good feel for these routes that he was seeing. Devin Street tried to take him up the field on a fade, but Mitchell was able to jam him on the line which threw off the timing of the route. Jerome Henderson put him to the test on Tuesday and Mitchell came out no worse for wear.
- For those of you out there that worry daily about Bruce Carter and how he is playing in coverage, this coaching staff doesn't share your concern. When the first defense went into its nickel package, Carter's been on the field with Justin Durant and he's looked far more comfortable in that role and responsibility, where in the previous season he looked lost and really unsure where he needed to fit in the scheme. Thus, we all observed the big plays that he gave up in coverage. He showed some really nice awareness in getting in the throwing lane during 7-on-7 to disrupt a pass. My thought is that if Carter was struggling, we would most likely see these coaches go with DeVonte Holloman in that spot and take him off the field, but that hasn't been the case at all. Carter's play in these practices has not given them reason to do so. [embedded_ad]
- The best observations we can draw from these practices is how well the first-year players are picking up their assignments and preventing mental errors. A player that I haven't written much about this spring is tight end Jordan Najvar from Baylor. Najvar had a snap during practice where DeVonte Holloman came screaming off the right side while Caleb Hanie was the quarterback and Ben Malena was at running back. In Jason Witten fashion, Najvar read the blitz on his release, ran five yards up the field, curled inside and started clapping for the ball. It was a perfectly executed "Hot" read on his part, and what was even better was Malena had the awareness to slide over and pick up the blitz, which bought Hanie an extra moment to deliver the ball. The offensive coaches had to appreciate how well their young players were able to pull that off without making a mistake.
