Here are my observations for Monday's CMU football practice, the first practice in pads:

- The coaching staff started the hitting right off the bat, during their 1-on-1 battles and also doing the Circle of Life to set the tone for the practice.

-Jeff Maddux was not part of practice today because of injury, doesn't appear to be anything serious, but Matt Kanitz took his spot on the line and played Right Guard while Allen Ollenburger moved to Left Guard.

-A.J. Westendorp has a different throwing style, almost like his hands are too small for the ball and he has to shot put the throws. But, whatever way he does it, he throws a nice spiral.

-In 5-on-5's and 7-on-7's Kito Poblah made some really nice catches and Derek Rifenbury threw some pretty balls. LeFevour also threaded the needle on a couple of sideline throws that looked really nice.

-The second team defense is pretty loaded with true freshmen, which means depth will definitely be an issue on the front seven this year.

-Tim Brazzel had a really nice practice and looked to have a little skip in his step today.

-The practices ended with a short scrimmage. The first team defense allowed a first down before forcing a 4th and 20 thanks to a sack from Larry Knight.

-The second team offense needed just one play on the second team defense, as Tim Phillips went untouched for a 49-yard touchdown run. Phillips had a burst through the line and then made some tacklers miss on his way to the score. Impressive run to say the least.

The Chippewas have a two-a-day on Tuesday, I will be on hand for the morning practice and bring some more notes tomorrow. Thanks for reading.