After nearly a week and a half of practices to open UFL training camp, teams finally got to hit players from another team on Wednesday, as joint practices were held across the league. Another set of scrimmages will take place next week before teams need to pare down to their opening day rosters. Several coaches were made available to the media after Wednesday’s on-field activities. Here is what they had to say about those practices.
Ken Whisenhunt, Memphis Showboats
“It was a good day. We got a chance to scrimmage against the Battlehawks, a good team in this league. So we kind of get an idea of where we match up in a lot of areas. This was against a very good football team and we held up pretty good.
“We’ve got work to do, but I’m really excited about how far we’ve come. We’ve made tremendous strides over the past week. Our guys are really excited to move forward and we’re really excited to get into the season.”
Bob Stoops, Arlington Renegades
“It was good, clean work. Got a lot of snaps. You love it when guys are smart, stay up, protect each other, no one got hurt, no fights. So it was really positive work.”
Mike Nolan, Michigan Panthers
“I thought it was good, we did a lot of good work. Our teams are built a little different [Michigan scrimmaged San Antonio] so I think they would say the same. They got a chance to look at a little different type of a player, both of us did, so that was good.
“From an individual standpoint, the one-on-ones, whether it was pass rush or coverage, things like that, I thought that was really good work for us. I thought it was great. A passionate kind of a practice for both teams. Any time you go against someone the level of competition goes up because when you know your own guys that you’re going against, you kind of know everything to expect. When you go against someone new, you don’t know what to expect so you’re on your best behavior. And I thought the guys did a good job handling that part of it.
“Overall, I think we got something out of it which is really what you want to do. Otherwise, you feel like you want to practice by yourself. They were the second place team in their division (last year), so that’s good work.”
Skip Holtz, Birmingham Stallions
“I liked the scrimmage yesterday, loved the energy. Both Arlington and Birmingham, I thought it was a great scrimmage. Very productive. It was very positive. Everybody working together, there weren’t a lot of fights. I think this football team is a very serious football team. I think this football team is a very mature football team. And I was really impressed with the way they handled the scrimmage yesterday…I thought both teams were very business-like in what our purpose was and why we were going against each other.”
