Can you hear me now?

by Barca Blog - Coach Johnson had one new twist to help the Commodores get "game ready" during their scrimmage inside Vanderbilt Stadium Saturday.

As the offensive and defensive units took to the field for the first series, they were greeted by a deafening noise over the speakers. It sounded similar to 92,000 screaming fans on a Saturday night in Death Valley, a place the 'Dores will visit on the second week of the season.

As I sat in the empty stands, the sound reverberated in my head like the twister in the opening scene of The Wizard of Oz. It was so loud, it even caused one trusted media member to make an error on a player's number, sending the rest of us into shock. Yes, the crowd noise even got the best of him.

Following the 75-play scrimmage, Coach Johnson explained the reason for the increase in decibels.

"We’re signaling a lot now," he said, "but there are some verbal commands that the quarterback has to make out on the field for the linemen. We wanted to make sure that they were going to be able to hear that.

"It makes you concentrate a little bit more or it makes you realize the need to concentrate a little more. That was more game-like than just a quiet scrimmage."

Johnson's message was loud and clear to senior center Bradley Vierling.

"We just really had to pay attention more," Vierling said. "Coach Sisk cranked up the speakers on us, but it was good. We need that because we'll have to go into places like LSU."

I'll leave you with this classic clip thanks to Chris.