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By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Judging from Saturday's scrimmage session, there are some specific things that will make Tennessee Tech coach Watson Brown happy during the 2015 season.
One of those is putting the ball in Ladarius Vanlier's hands. Having receivers Krys Cates and Jordan Smith back and healthy are two more to bring a smile to the face of the veteran coach. The return of tight end Demetris Watson is yet another.
And if the coach is happy, Tech fans will likely be happy, too.
All of those elements were on full display in Tech's first scrimmage of the spring drills Saturday on Overall Field, a 61-play effort that saw the offense score five touchdowns when it was clicking, and suffer five turnovers when it wasn't.
"You're never happy, either way," Brown said about the turnovers. "It's great for our defense to get five, but it's poor by the offense."
The offense lost three fumbles in a span of just seven plays during one part of the action, and the defense grabbed interceptions on back-to-back possessions.
Other than those two stretches, the Golden Eagle offense appeared to be functioning well.
"We're not as polished now as we were when we finished the season last year, but I think we've got a better team," Brown said. "There are only four positions, including our specialists, that we don't have starters back, so we should be a better team. I think we're a better offense already.
"Jared (Davis) is much improved, and it's good to get Jordan Smith, Krys Cates. Demetris Watson and Charles Mouton back. All four of those didn't play last year, so to get those guys back will make a difference. All four of those played really well today."
Davis, a quarterback who will be a junior in 2015, directed a 65-yard, 11-play scoring drive on the first possession of the day, and led his unit on two more scoring drives during the second half of play. He finished the contest 9-of-15 for 102 yards, and also rushed four times for 18 yards including a six-yard touchdown.
He was one of three quarterbacks to combine for 244 passing yards, going 27-for-42 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.
Colby Brown, a junior college transfer who will be a sophomore this fall, had sensational numbers, throwing for 107 yards on 13-for-17 accuracy, including a pair of touchdown tosses to Cates. Brown showed he could do damage with both his passing arm and his legs, rushing four times for 38 yards.
The third signal-called was redshirt freshman Ty Jobe. He was 5-of-10 for 35 yards. Both Jobe and Brown had an interception.
Vanlier was the focus of the attack early on, getting the ball in his hands on five of the first six plays. He finished with four catches for 37 yards and five carries for 19 yards.
Cates, who sat out the entire 2014 season with a foot injury, was the headliner on Saturday with four catches for 60 yards. He grabbed a pair of TD passes from Brown, the first a leaping, one-handed grab on an eight-yard pass as he fell over backwards in the end zone. That catch finished off a 41-yard, six-play scoring drive as the second touchdown of the day.
After John Arnold kicked a 24-yard field goal to cap a 43-yard scoring drive engineered by Brown, Davis returned to the field to lead Tech on another 65-yard TD drive. This time, Radir Annoor carried the ball the final six yards for the TD. The drive included a big 15-yard pass to Watson, a 27-yard completion to Ty Harrell, and a 14-yard connection to Smith.
Watson, who opened last year as the team's starting tight end but was forced to the sidelines with an injury, was back in top form. He had three catches for 27 yards. Harrell had two grabs for 28 yards. Smith, who also went out for all of 2014 with an injury, finished with a team-best five catches for 40 yards.
Cates snatched his second TD on a 33-yard pass from Brown, finishing off another 65-yard drive that took just three plays. After Willie Davis was stopped for no gain on first down, the bruising runningback broke free for a 32-yard gallop on the next play to set the stage for the touchdown.
The offense lost the ball on consecutive drives via interceptions. The first came on a pass by Harrell as walk-on Blake Lynn collected a deflected ball and returned it 51 yards. That turnover spoiled a solid piece of work from runningback Deven Sullivan, a redshirt freshman from Muscle Shoals, Ala. He had four carries in the drive for 36 yards, including a 22-yard burst on second-and-15.
The second interception was by senior Bill Dillard on a Brown pass in which the receiver appeared to run the wrong route.
Davis once again marched Tech to the end zone following those two mistakes. This time the drive went 30 yards in seven plays, with redshirt freshman Jordan Jackson squirting in from the eight on the final play of the day.
The team has a short week of practice next week before breaking for the Easter weekend. Tech will be back to a full week of practice following the holiday, with the next scrimmage set for Saturday, April 11, at 1:30 p.m.
