Today marked the end of the first session of Stanford football's two two-week Spring practice sessions.  Given that I only was equipped with a point-and-shoot and had to deal with an unruly Red Coat who kept thinking I was video filming the practice, I did as decently as I could.

Pics after the jump

First, the non-football related pics.

These kids were having their own practice next to Maples.  Even the girls got involved.

Clearly an identity crisis.

Yes, even our four-legged canine friends came along to watch.

I couldn't get a good shot of the crowd, but I settled for a side view taken from the side of the Maples loading dock.

It was a full-contact practice, so yes, everyone got hit.  And yes, this O-line was by far the best out there.

A shot of the helmets with the BCS stickers on them.  Note the conference sticker hasn't been changed to Pac-12 yet.

Luck was behind center for at least one series.

Nunes, Nottingham, Daniel, and Olsen all suited up for contact as well.  Picazo did not participate (I couldn't tell if he was injured, though).

This practice featured a semi-scrimmage complete with refs and penalties enforced.  Some of you may remember back when Coach Willingham instituted push-ups-for-penalties back in the '90s.  That punishment is back for practices.

Post-practice stretching

 

If there was anything substantial that I could take, it was that

• Eric Whitaker is almost assured of being the kicker for next season.  He was hitting 45+ yard FGs.  His backup today was Freshman Jordan Williamson.
• Highly-touted QB Brett Nottingham has a lot of work to do.  He wasn't hitting receivers, got sacked twice, and threw a pick-six on his turn at the helm.
• Senior RB Jeremy Stewart is amazing.  Anyone who saw the Orange Bowl knows that, but today just reinforced it.
• If I had to make a snap-judgment, I'd say the offensive line has regressed little, if any, since last year, even with the new guys.
• Conversely, the defense looks like it isn't as strong against our top O-line as last season.  But that isn't to say they aren't good, either.
• Coach Shaw knows what he's doing.