Sunday Notebook

8/12/2018 5:00:00 PM | Football

By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – It's been a busy first eight practices for Middle Tennessee.

The Blue Raiders have gone through what head coach Rick Stockstill calls the "acclimatization" period, where the players are getting back into football shape. Now, they'll focus more on nailing down finer points of the offense, defense and special teams.

Here are some tidbits from practice so far that you may have missed:

Successful first scrimmage:
The first team scrimmage of the season took place on Saturday, and Stockstill was overall pleased with what he saw, though he was discouraged by a high number of penalties on both sides.

Most notably, a long Maurice Gordon run was called back due to holding while the second team offense was on the field, and an interception by the second team defense was wiped off due to an offsides call.

"Like any first scrimmage, there were some good things and some not so good things," Stockstill said. "I was disappointed by the amount of penalties we had … but that's why we have [officials] out here, so we can get those mistakes corrected before our next scrimmage.

"I thought our effort was good, not great … Brent [Stockstill] was sharp, I thought Brad Anderson and Terelle [West] ran the ball well and we had some receivers make some plays. Defensively, we started out good and kind of faded towards the end a little bit. I thought Khalil Brooks, DQ Thomas and Reed [Blankenship] showed up."

Steamy camp:
As usual in Middle Tennessee during August, camp has been highlighted by some extreme heat.

Temperatures have been over 90 for almost every practice, with the only relief coming during a cloudy, rainy day on Friday.

The forecast doesn't show a break from the heat on the horizon, as The Weather Channel is expecting temperatures to be in the lower 90s for most of this week. Rain could pop up over the weekend, though, and could cool things down.

Players with degree in hand:
Redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris was a part of graduation ceremonies on Saturday, becoming the eighth player on this year's team who'll have a degree in hand when the season starts Sept. 1 at Vanderbilt.

The eight players are:

Brent Stockstill
Gatlin Casey
Cordell Hudson
Darrius Liggins
Angelo Owens
Jahmal Jones
Carlos Johnson
Darius Harris

Permanent team captains named:
Coach Stockstill named permanent team captains for this season before camp started. They are quarterback Brent Stockstill, offensive lineman Chandler Brewer, defensive lineman, Malik Manciel and linebacker Darius Harris, all seniors.

Former player presence:
Two players from MT's 2017 roster are now patrolling the sidelines as volunteer coaches.

Shane Tucker, a former Blue Raider running back and wide receiver, and John Urzua, a former quarterback, have been helping on the offensive side through camp.

Tucker exhausted his eligibility after last season, while Urzua was forced to hang up his cleats midway through the year after suffering numerous concussions during his career.

HOF shoutouts:
Freshly shrined NFL Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins gave two Middle Tennessee coaches a shoutout during his recent induction speech.

Dawkins, a Clemson graduate, was coached at the South Carolina school by MT defensive line coach Tommy West, at the time the Tigers' head coach, and Stockstill was also on the staff as an offensive coach.

Fan Day is Aug. 19:
Don't forget, Blue Raider fans: Fan Day is scheduled for Aug. 19 in Floyd Stadium.

From 2-4 p.m., fans will have the chance to meet members of the football, soccer and volleyball teams; get autographs signed; pick up an "Our Town. Our Team." yard sign and schedule posters; and check out several sponsors who will be set up in the North end zone providing free giveaways.

The Blue Raider Ticket Office will be holding a select-a-seat event inside Floyd Stadium. This provides fans a chance to see which seats are still available for the 2017 season. The Ticket Office is located outside of Gate 3.

Fun stat of the day:
MT junior wide receiver Ty Lee has had an incredible start to his career in Murfreesboro.

The Moultrie, Georgia, native goes into the season ranked fifth in program history in receptions (142), seventh in receiving yards (1,654) and 10^th in receiving touchdowns (14). He's also the active leader in all three categories in Conference USA.