Written by Ell | 07 August 2008

A brief but powerful Thursday afternoon thunderstorm threatened to move practice indoors, but the weather improved enough for the Tide to stay outside. The weather did buy the players a bit of a break, as Tuscaloosa temperatures dropped into the mid 80s. After working in shells on Wednesday night the players returned to full pads for Thursday. Here's what you need to know:

• No significant injuries. Baron Huber was held out of drills while Darius Hanks & Ali Sharrief both participated in black no contact jerseys. More info on the Sharrief & Huber injuries will come after a brief press conference this afternoon, though neither injury appears to be serious.
• Hanks is still restricted from contact, but is participating in team drills. The injury doesn't appear to be limiting him much as he has easily shown the best hands of any Tide receiver in the fall camp so far.
• Chris Jackson was back at full speed for his 2nd consecutive practice after being in black for a couple of days.
• John Parker Wilson continues to distance himself from the other quarterbacks. While each of the Tide's other 3 QBs deal with inconsistency, Wilson continues to show not only a better mental grasp of the offense, but more consistency with the physical execution of it.
• Mark Ingram has continued to be the most impressive of the freshman running backs, placing himself squarely in contention for more reps as the Tide heads towards its first off day on Sunday.
• Cory Reamer has put a lock on the WILL position so far. Despite the movement of several guys behind him at the position in an attempt to find an adequate backup, Reamer has given the WILL a steady constant. Charlie Higgenbotham continues to be the guy getting the most reps with the 2nd unit, though freshman Don'ta Hightower seems to be settling in to this position and should begin to push for more reps soon.
• Demetrius Goode seems to be adjusting well to cornerback. He does struggle with some of the more complex coverage packages, but looks very fluid in his man-to-man drills. This was his 4th practice at the position and he seems to be transitioning well. It would not surprise me to see this position move stick.
• Joe Pendry is still looking for someone to be the true backup to Andre Smith at left tackle. Each of the incoming freshman has had an opportunity to work there, but for now it appears as though Scott Deaton is still getting the majority of the reps there. With Deaton being a recruited Bryant Scholarship player he would count as a scholarship player if he plays.
• Tyler Love appeared without the air cast or an extra brace on his right leg/ankle for the first time today. It should be interesting to see if he makes more significant progress now that he is unencumbered.
• Brad Smelley's eye-catching performance on fan day has not been an aberration. He is still buried behind a lot of depth at tight end, but could be the Tide's best receiver at that position already. He still lacks some of the strength required to be a complete package at the position, but his speed and athleticism have proven to be a tough combination for the mismatched Tide defenders.
• In a continued show of how much Julio Jones has worked his way into the wide receiver rotation he is beginning to get more work opposite the Tide's top corner Kareem Jackson during pass skeleton work. He is still behind both Mike McCoy & Earl Alexander, but that gap is rapidly closing.
• There will be 2 practices again tomorrow, with one at 9:30 a.m. and another at 7:30 p.m. We'll have a report up after each practice.

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