Quinn Pleased With First Spring Scrimmage

BUFFALO, NY – Saturday was the third football practice of the spring and the Bulls were in full pads for their first scrimmage.

"I thought today went extremely well when you look at the play on both sides of the ball," head coach Jeff Quinn said.

The offense worked on runs and short passes during the scrimmage. All four quarterbacks saw action. The first play of the scrimmage Alex Zordich found Cordero Dixon for a 12-yard gain. Tony Daniel, Joe Licata and Jerry Davis all saw action behind center.

"All four quarterbacks are getting time to prove who they are in terms of understanding the offense and running the offense," Quinn said. "I thought we were a little slow at times. They might be thinking a little bit too much. But I like where we are with all four of them and it will be interesting to see after today where they are production-wise."

All-MAC running back Branden Oliver looked in midseason form, ripping off a number of impressive runs. The highlight was a 60-yard touchdown run in which he stopped on a dime, changed direction and broke it to the outside.

"He has tremendous vision and great acceleration," Quinn said of OIiver.  "It's a great thing for our offense to have a guy like that to help our quarterback position."

Alex Nuetz looked comfortable at receiver coming off his wrist injury that shortened his season last year.

Quinn was also pleased with the play of the offensive line.

"Our offensive line did a nice job today sustaining blocks and finishing," Quinn said. "They are continuously working to become not just good run blockers, but also good pass blockers."

Defensively, cornerback Cortney Lester stood out with a pair of nice pass breakups.

"I saw a lot of guys flying to the football and breaking on the ball," Quinn said. "That's been a big emphasis defensively."

Spring practice will continue on Tuesday afternoon at UB Stadium.