Video and More: First fall practice
MGoBlue.com's Countdown to Kickoff continued with coverage of the first fall practice. Notching the first carry - running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, returning from a traumatic leg injury.
"I was more anxious than anything," Toussaint told WXYT' Radio's Doug Karsch. "It was kind of like I blocked everything out and wanted to focus on one second at a time. That's what I did today. I know I worked hard. But it was right here right now - I took this day and continued to move forward."
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Redshirt sophomore cornerback Blake Countess, coming off his own traumatic knee injury suffered last year against Alabama, was also anxious to get into the mix.
"There's nothing like being able to put the pads back on and get, I guess, a second chance," he said. "I really can't wait. I'm tired of sitting out. Tired of watching."
Countess insisted he was 100 percent.
The first practice was also a chance to look at some of the freshmen, including highly touted running back Derrick Green.
"There were a lot of guys put in position to see what some of the freshmen can do, but really we were just in shirts," fifth-year senior offensive lineman Taylor Lewan said. "We really won't be able to see too much until we're all in full pads.
"We're going more spread to pro style, a lot more downhill stuff, which is really what you want as an O-lineman. You want downhill run game and downhill pass - you might see play action on first and second down, which we really didn't have before."