Not too much new has come out of spring practice this week, but there are a few narratives to keep your eyes on.
Alshon Jeffery Continues to Have Issues with Class Attendance. Alshon has missed two practices due to his failure to comply with a class-attendance policy. Steve Spurrier hedged a good bit when discussing the second offense, saying
"He really didn't miss. He left early. So when he leaves early, that's like a miss," Spurrier said. "He's not been bad. But he's just not supposed to miss any."
We don't need to hear the hedging, coach. Alshon, get your butt to class. We all know you're gone after three years, but until then, you've got to play by the rules.
Also on the subject of Alshon, I haven't heard much more about the plan to train Tori Gurley to play in the slot in order to get Tori and Alshon on the field at the same time. I assume the coaches are still working with Tori on teaching him the new position. Anyone else heard anything about this?
Lots of Players, Particularly on Defense, Are Sitting Out the Spring. We've got a lot of defensive guys nursing recovering injuries right now. In a sense, this is probably a good thing. Spring practice is largely about seeing what the young guys are capable of, teaching them their positions, working on their fundamentals, etc. Having some guys sitting out should give our coaches more time to work with the guys who will be key reserves next year, which is particularly important at positions like defensive line where there is still some uncertainty about what the depth chart will look like. It also, of course, means that the typical dynamic where you're hearing about various players du jour who you had never heard of beffore and who are making huge plays in situational drills becomes all the more prominent. As always, beware of putting too much stock in this kind of hype.