Friday, August 10, 2007

Practice Wrap - 8/10

Somebody on the Air Force football team needs to step up.



With a nickname.

Having written about former wide receiver Vic Thompson in Friday’s paper, I recalled all the joy brought by the former wide receiver’s alias – Waffle House. (You know, because he’s open 24/7).

Sophomore strong safety Chris Thomas is “Tom Tom,” and sophomore defensive tackle Ryan Gonzales is “Gonzo,” and I know there are probably lots more that I just haven’t heard quite yet.

But Thompson set the bar pretty high with “Waffle House.” Especially because (I think) he came up with it himself. So I’m opening up the floor for nickname suggestions. Let me know.

Who stood out: Senior cornerback Garrett Rybak. On consecutive plays during seven-on-seven drills, Rybak picked off a tipped pass and returned it for a score and then reached from behind freshman receiver Nate Carlson to bat away a pass.

Lasting image: Toward the end of practice, Air Force running plays out of the shotgun with four wide receivers. I know the Falcons did it last spring, but it’s still jarring to see a run-n-shoot set on the academy practice fields.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just discovered your blog, and wanted to say thanks for your coverage of Falcon football. There are a few young men who used to play high school football in my area, and I enjoy keeping an eye on their progress. I was not the least bit surprised to see Chris Thomas' name pop up in a few of your reports! He is an excellent student, athlete, and all-around fine young man!

Your recent observation on 8/4 about Chris is very astute. You noted, "Thomas just can’t wait to hit. I get the feeling if the equipment staff forgot to bring his helmet and shoulder pads to the stadium for a game, Thomas would play without them." When Chris was injured a couple of years ago, on crutches, and unable to play, it was noted by his friends that he would head butt his teammates (in congratulations) even though they were wearing their helmets but he wasn't!

I look forward to following your blog and other Gazette articles, and only wish that more of the games would be aired nationally so that the hometown fans could watch and enjoy the Falcons' season!

Before I sign off, I can't neglect to mention that I expect Justin Moore and Will Keuchler will also contribute greatly to the team - GO FALCONS!

jake.schaller said...

Thanks so much for your comments.
That's a great story about Chris -- and it doesn't' surprise me in the least! I definitely can picture the non-helmet head butts.
It should be pretty exciting to watch Chris play this year. Air Force's coaches are going to give him ample opportunities to make plays.
I'll keep an eye on Justin Moore and Will Keuchler too.
Thanks again for the comments.

Anonymous said...

Great article about Chris Thomas!! I like the kid already and the season has not even started!! I did a little research and found that Chris Thomas, Justin Moore, and Will Keuchler all played for the same high school in Ohio. Imagine what that team must have been like!! Turns out they played for a smaller division school named DeSales in Columbus, Ohio that would go head to head with much larger division schools throughout the state regularly. In the last 15 years the team won something like 3 state championsips and 4 runner-ups. Thank goodness the boys all landed here with our Falcons!