From the bounce in his step to the accuracy of his throws, Jackson State quarterback Jimmy Oliver has impressed the coaches with his play during the first two days of practice.
Unlike last year, when Oliver was the starting quarterback almost by default, there's some serious competition under center with Mississippi State transfer Tray Rutland, William Brack and Joseph Hawkins all in the mix.
"Jimmy's come out and looked the way a starter should look," JSU offensive coordinator James Woody said. "Jimmy's kind of an invisible worker. You may not see him working, but believe me, he's always trying to make himself better."
The quarterbacks ran through a series of drills during Sunday's two-hour practice. Woody said Oliver was impressive, but all the quarterbacks have made strides.
"All of them came in for voluntary workouts and that's great to see," Woody said. "Everybody's fighting out here. Competition is a great thing."
GETTING DEFENSIVE
In retrospect, JSU coach Rick Comegy said he might have tried to install too many defensive sets too quickly in his first year. He said that's the main reason for some miscommunication at crucial junctures in last season's games, allowing some long TD passes.
So this year, Comegy's trying to simplify his base defense and he spent the majority of Sunday's practice implementing the new plan.
"I was pleased how quickly it caught on," he said. "It wasn't perfect, but we'll clean it up during our meetings. It was a good start."
EXTRA POINTS
Receiver Carlos Simpson sat out Sunday's practice because of dehydration from Saturday's first workout. He's expected to be back at practice either today or Tuesday.
Also sitting out Sunday's practice was tight end Marcel Frost, who broke his fibula in the spring game and hasn't been able to practice since.
- David Brandt
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