BOONE, N.C. — Defensive back
Omari Philyaw picked off the seven-on-seven pass while in tight coverage with the intended receiver, prompting teammate
Brendan Harrington to excitedly bounce away from the sideline.
"That's how you make a play," Harrington yelled repeatedly.
Two days after App State went through a 92-play scrimmage, and two days before a Wednesday scrimmage, the Mountaineers had a shorter but eventful practice Monday in Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The plays made Saturday provided head coach
Shawn Clark and his assistants with some guidance on how to proceed to the next phase of the spring, starting with Monday's practice No. 8, and toward the fall.
"No. 1, we're looking for guys who can make plays and who are smart and tough, and the depth chart is moving," Clark said. "After the first scrimmage, we evaluated the tape and made some changes on the depth chart. That's what you have to have, because competition breeds excellence."
The loudest cheers of the day emerged from the defensive sideline during a takeaway-heavy session of seven-on-seven work.
Ronald Clarke had an interception shortly after Philyaw's pick, and
Tyrek Funderburk went streaking down the sideline after he intercepted a throw.
At roughly the same time, with the lines doing battle beyond one end zone, an explosive rep from defensive tackle
KaRon White created the biggest outburst from that group.
Limited 11-on-11 work included one tough-to-throw-over pressure from 6-foot-6 end
Michael Fletcher and more praise-worthy work from redshirt freshman end
Santana Hopper.
Early enrollee
Nate Johnson intercepted a pass as he showed versatility with more reps at the "Dog" outside linebacker position, and safety
Nick Ross delivered the biggest hit of the day in run support.
Offensively,
Nate Noel and
Maquel Haywood produced big gains, some on runs up the middle with center
Isaiah Helms being flanked by
Damion Daley and
Troy Everett at the two guard spots.
Joey Aguilar hit
Christan Horn in stride for about a 40-yard touchdown, and tight end
Eli Wilson had some long gains in the passing game.
"I thought the defense started out very strong," Clark said. "They were really running to the football and did well in all of our situational stuff. The second half, the offense started running the ball better. That's good to see, because it's very hard to run the ball against our defense. If we can be successful on first down, it sets us up for second and third down."
