Sideline watch

by Barca Blog - One of the storylines coming out of Saturday's practice had to do with the Commodores that didn't take the field on day two.

First, three receivers – redshirt sophomore Udom Umoh, redshirt freshman John Cole and redshirt freshman Akeem Dunham – attended practice but did not participate due to minor injuries. Cole and Dunham tweaked hamstrings while Umoh had a sore shoulder.

"We were a little thin at receiver today," Johnson said. "We need all those guys out there. John is one of our most explosive receivers and Udom has continued to improve. We'll get them back when our trainers give their okay."

Also, senior tailback Jared Hawkins watched the two-hour session from the sidelines. The Commodores' top returning rusher missed all of spring practice after having offseason surgery on his foot.

"Yesterday I was back in full-go and today (the coaches) wanted to limit me a little bit to make sure I'm easing back into things," Hawkins said. "They don't want me to start back up right away.

"It's very important to be back. It's killing me to be on the sidelines every now and then. I'm itching and ready to go for the season."

Watch video (below) of Coach Johnson's post-practice press conference plus VUcommodores' interview with Hawkins. For a full recap of the action, click here.