April 5 Spring Practice Quick-Hitters

Here are some quick notes about Sunday's spring practice. Which unit won the day, which players stood out, and who was visiting.

An absolutely picture-perfect day greeted the San Jose State football team on Sunday afternoon as they headed out to the Spartan Practice Facility for another edition of the 2009 Spring Practice session. Inside Sparta made the following quick observations. We'll have more, including pictures from the practice, throughout the week.

Prior to today the teams practiced in groups - offense and defense. Today they mixed things up a bit more, especially in line drills and the receiver/defensive back one-on-one competitions.

• There were plenty of visitors today, including incoming freshman cornerback Brandon Driver of Santa Rosa Junior College.
• Redshirt freshman Tyler Cope was booming kicks on target today, by far the most accurate of the placekickers.
• The offense won the day both in the one-on-one competition and in the full-team scrimmage.
• There is a lot of excitement and expectation on this squad. Observers are quick to point out that this is as spirited and hard-hitting of a spring in recent memory.
• Junior wide receiver Marquis Avery is listed at 6-foot-4, but I'd give him at least another inch, possibly two.
• Senior offensive guard Garrett Faulconer has slimmed down. He's listed at 360 but he looks much leaner than in years past.
• The quarterback competition is too close to call at this point. Both senior Kyle Reed and junior Jordan La Secla appear to be the front-runners, but there is no clear leader so far this spring

Stay tuned for to Inside Sparta for more spring analysis and interviews with coaches and players, and of course photos.

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Don Hoekwater is the Publisher of Inside Sparta. You may contact Don with any questions, comments, or tips at