What caught my eye at Friday’s practice: Aug. 15

By Matt Tait     Aug 15, 2014

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Safeties coach Scott Vestal works with SS Isaiah Johnson during a drill at Friday's morning practice.

It always blows my mind how, when I go out to these portions of practice that are open to the media, I kind of ignore the most talented and proven players.

That’s not to say I don’t toss a glance over to the linebackers to see what Ben Heeney’s doing or take a peek at what Tony Pierson’s hands look like during a specific drill, but I definitely don’t spend the same kind of time studying those guys as I do the newcomers, the question marks and the unproven players.

I guess that makes sense. I know what Heeney and Pierson and so many others can do because I’ve seen it on Saturdays. Besides, there’s always a little more intrigue surrounding the guys we don’t know much about.

With that in mind, I tried to mix in a little of both during this morning’s practice, KU’s second session of two-a-days of the preseason camp.

Here’s a look at who stood out…

**• Junior safety Isaiah Johnson,** the reigning Big 12 defensive newcomer of the year, looks even bigger and stronger than he did a season ago. I watched a good portion of the drills the DBs did with Scott Vestal and noticed that Johnson looks a lot more powerful in all of his movements. That can only help him improve on his five-interception season that earned him national praise and made him a more familiar name in Big 12 country.

**• I mentioned Cassius Sendish the other day** for his work ethic, but what jumped out to me today is the guy’s burst. Sendish is fast. Again, he might not stand out to everybody for that or any other reason because he’s not flashy, but he can fly. His legs are strong and powerful and he seems to get max strength out of every step and every plant.

**• Sophomore Tevin Shaw** got some love from KU coach Charlie Weis the other day for possibly being the team’s most improved player so I took a look at him today, as well. I’ve always liked Shaw. Thought he was going to be a player right when he arrived and, understandably, it’s taken him a couple of years to reach the point where he looks and feels more comfortable out there. I didn’t see any of the viciousness that coach was talking about, but I was only watching drills. I’m hoping to see some more of what Shaw can do in terms of hitting and physicality on Saturday at the open practice.

**• Speaking of the open practice and fan appreciation day,** set for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, I just got a note from KU that said they’ll decide by 10 a.m. whether the show will go on or not. Sounds like there’s a chance for rain and inclement weather so plans could change. As I said, we’ll know by 10 tomorrow morning.

**• One quick note on a newcomer,** safety Fish Smithson. The guy looks good. Weis said the other day that he’s pushing to be a starter (though it’s hard to see him supplanting Sendish or Johnson at safety) and, it appears to me, that one of the big reasons for the push is because the guy is so technically sound. Every step during the drills I watched today was taken with purpose and in just the right manner. He’s a little under-sized back there at 5-11, 190 but he packs a punch and is so fundamentally sound that I can see why they like the guy. It certainly did not hurt that he arrived early and was able to adjust during spring practices.

**• Finally, a quick note about Vestal,** who I think really is one of the better up-and-coming coaches on this staff. The guy’s good and he’s gonna be great some day. I really like watching him work with the DBs because he’s so hands-on. He’s right there for every step and if you take six steps in a back-pedal drill but just one of them isn’t right or perfect, he’ll make you do them all over again until you nail it. Another thing I like about his style is the way he comes up with little word devices to teach technique. For today’s back-pedal drill, where the safeties were reading the break of the wide receivers and trying to get a jump on the cut, Vestal continually said “Read. My. Keys,” as he stomped each step into the ground to try to hammer home the point. I didn’t catch what the keys were, which is good because (a) that’s meeting room stuff and (b) it means none of the guys forgot them, but I loved every second of watching the interaction between Vestal and the safeties.

Headed to interviews with the WRs and QBs soon… Be sure to check out our latest Podcast and also Benton Smith’s video from this morning’s practice.

http://www2.kusports.com/videos/2014/aug/15/35939/

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.