Gone Campin'

I had the chance to spend two hours at the Guelph Gryphons first practice of the 2008 OUA football season.

Here are some observations:

1) It seems winning has its perks. The Gryphons have been rewarded with new black practice jerseys for the defence and red for the offence. [Insert sports reporter's mini-rant here] The jerseys have no numbers, so I have no idea who I'm watching most of the time, especially when the second unit comes onto the field. The Gryphons also got an upgrade to the locker room and carpeted hallways in the bowels of Alumni Stadium, which also got a new paint job in the off-season. And kicker Rob Maver is pleased with the new kicking net.

2) It looks like the battle to be Justin Dunk's backup is between lefty Lance Fergin and Kurtis Dance. Dance gets the early nod as he took the first snap after Dunk and is a few inches taller than Fergin.

3) On the injury front, defensive back and holder Jamie Shaw is out indefinitely with a broken right arm. A doctor was to examine Shaw last night. Meanwhile, Maver was holding open tryouts for a replacement in the locker room after practice. Others listed as "injured. not at camp" included offensive lineman Greg Zaremba and receiver Dave Honig.

4) You might say head coach Kyle Walters is a hands-on kind of coach. While the first-string offence ran plays, he was out playing defensive back and linebacker, just to get a read on things.

5) The General Tom Kendall made an appearance near the end of practice. The Guelph athletic director surveyed things from the sideline, peering through thick, tinted shades.

6) Kyle Walters promoted Billy Brown to associate coach in the off-season. Brown is now in charge of a defence Walters schemed the past two seasons. And Walters now runs the revamped offence, which is getting rave reviews from Dunk, Maver and running back Nick Fitzgibbon. Maver is so confident in the offence's ability to move the ball, he said Guelph, which punted 78 times last season, will punt just 53 times this season. He originally said 42. I'll be nice and hold him to the former.

7) In what can only be described as an honourable move, linebacker Scott Puillandre, who rehabbed three injuries to the same knee last season and looked good in spring camp, has joined the Canadian Armed Forces. Puillandre has always been a reservist.
"Unbelievable," Walters said. "He's quite an honourable young man. He decided it was his duty and his time to fill a more permanent role in the military and train to fight overseas."

8) Dunk, a notorious scrambler, completed the first two passes he threw yesterday. Fitzgibbon dropped the third through no fault of Dunk's.

Guelph begins two-a-days Tuesday at 8 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Coming up in Tuesday's edition of the Mercury: Guelph's great expecations and attitude adjustment.

Comments

[clark squires]

Hi Greg,

I just found your blog and look forward to reading all your updates on the OUA. I live in Halifax and any info on Waterloo Football in your articles is appreciated. My son just arrived at camp there and any news is great.

Thanks