By Justice
The end is nigh! With just a little over one week of spring practice left for Old Dominion Football, they once again took the field at L.R. Hills Sports Complex. While it was sunny, it was a little on the chilly side this Tuesday afternoon. This marks the third practice session for ODU Football this Spring that has been open for the media. They ran some 11 vs 11 and positional drills today during the media session. Having focused on the offense my first two visits, I decided ahead of time to focus on the defense today.
It was as if the team knew that defense would be my focus today, as the defense dominated the media portion of practice. When they weren’t getting whistle sacks they were applying plenty of pressure to the quarterbacks from all 3 levels (defensive line, linebackers, defensive backs). With the quarterbacks under constant duress it caused some off-target throws and several broken up passes by the secondary.
Now for my observations on the defensive personnel:
- The players that seemed to man the defensive line 3-man front for the first-unit were (from left-to-right) Kris Trinidad, DeAndre Lynch and Chris Forbes.
- The 2 first-unit corners on the outside were Botros Alisandro (right side) and Brandon Crutchfield (left side). Crutchfield was impressive today, mirroring his wide receiver’s every move like a shadow at high noon. Defensive Coordinator Blake Seiler specifically mentioned Crutchfield during the post practice media scrum when asked about the Cornerback room.
- For the safeties, the first-unit saw some rotation of 4 players for the 3 positions. They were Mario Easterly, Patrick Smith-Young (did not rotate), Jeremy Mack Jr. and Nickendre Stiger. Patrick Smith-Young looks locked in and like a leader in this room. Stiger, the Kansas State transfer, made a nice play on one of his rotations by getting to the quarterback with a blitz.
Only four more practices remain before the ODU Football Spring Game and Fan Field Day on April 19th 2 PM at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Be sure to come out and see the 2025 Monarchs and join in the Fan Field Day following the game. The Fan field day will feature autograph sessions, photo ops and on-the-field fun for all ages. For more information, please click here.
As always, a lot can and will change before the first game of the 2025 Season. But I hope you enjoy the spring content! The next practice with media availability is April 15th. So until then, GO MONARCHS!
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