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Plenty of contact

Posted August 8, 2007

The Buffs were in shoulder pads, shorts and helmets Wednesday afternoon and did plenty of hitting, though they were constantly reminded by coaches not to tackle.

They violated the rule more than once but mostly by mistake. Tempers also flared on several occasions but there were no major incidents. Coach Dan Hawkins has said it's a sign of good leadership that players are policing themselves so well this year when it comes to stopping fights before they get started.

Practice began with all the players in big circle at mid-field. One offensive player and one defensive player would enter the circle at a time and they would try to wrestle each other to the ground, pushing and banging on each other with big yellow pads.

Hawkins said the offensive line went undefeated in the circle, but the defense won overall. One of the best matches pitted freshman offensive lineman Ryan Miller against defensive tackle Brandon Nicolas. Miller won.

Three referees were on hand for the first time this year. They were there to give players a more realistic feel of game conditions in 11-on-11 work.

Both quarterbacks -- Cody Hawkins and Nick Nelson -- had their moments. This battle looks pretty close to me at this point, but it seems like Hawkins has the edge in terms of leadership and taking control of things.

Redshirt freshman tight end Nate Solder is a massive human being and he's looking like he can probably contribute this fall. The guy has to be 6-foot-10. He's listed as 6-8, 270, but he's clearly taller than Miller, who is also listed as 6-8.

There has been talk of turning Solder into an offensive lineman at some point, and maybe that will happen down the line. But right now the guy can run like a deer and seems to have great hands. I'd love to see him matched up on some 6-foot defensive back.

I couldn't tell exactly how far away he was, but Kevin Eberhart made a couple field goals from at least 50 yards. He also missed an attempt from way out there.

More to come later...