Tracking Mack: March 22

On today's practice: "A great day. The guys enjoyed practicing today. The first two practices have been great. We had a very physical practice. We hit most of the practice and the guys really got after each other. We had a good scrimmaging at the end. We turned it over too much offensively, but the offense was really trying and competing and the defense really got after them. We will have another practice on Thursday and we believe that will lead us into a great scrimmage on Saturday morning."

On the last eight days of practice: "The first seven days is mostly fundamental stuff and getting the younger guys ready. We were teaching and being more patient with some. Telling them what they can't do and that they need to grow up. These last eight days we are getting the guys ready to go into two-a-days and play. The intensity is not different, but the things that we are asking of them are. For example we have NOSs, Not Our Standard, so if a guy doesn't do well on the play he will be punished for it after practice. We didn't have that the first seven because we were trying to show them what we mean. We are going into these practices with the same accountability as we have in two-a-days."

On David Thomas: "David's dad is a superintended of a school. David is a brilliant guy off the field and a smart football player who is very tough. He can play tight end, he can play fullback, he can play what we call H-back, which is a combination of both, and he can play wide receiver. He can do so many things for us that he may be as valuable as anybody on our offensive team except for Vince (Young). We will use him in multiple roles. Right now, we are inexperienced at fullback so that is a role that David will probably carry into the fall along with his tight end duties. We have had some great tight ends. Derek Lewis was an outstanding tight end for us and made some great plays. Bo Scaife overcame so many things to play. David is the ultimate for what you want in a college student-athlete. He is a great student and a great leader. He plays hard everyday. He is a team leader, he blocks, he plays very unselfish and he is fast enough to score when he catches the ball. He is the perfect signee and has become even a better player. He wants to coach when he is through but he is going to need to take some time to play in the NFL before he coaches."

On Chris Ogbonnaya: "He did a good job today in making a couple long runs. Chris was a quarterback in high school and never played running back. It is a very unusual transition for him. He is learning how to carry the pads better and how to hold onto the ball. It will be some good film for us to watch. We are excited about watching him. He needs a good scrimmage on Saturday and in the spring game to see how much he has improved."

On Pro Timing Day: "At 10:30, I greet the scouts and tell them about every player. I go over the things I feel are important for them to know about each of the guys. About academics, personality, character, and football. Then after that, they can ask me questions about each one. Jeff Madden, Cleve Bryant, Brian Davis, and Kenny Boyd are also in the there to answer questions. I meet with them as a group and not individually. We want to make sure they all have the same information. They are investing so much money in the guys that they need as much information as they can get to see if a player fits their needs. They are going to take a guy for how he plays. They are all fast. Coach Bryant started running 40s in college football in the 60's because he wanted to see who could cover a 40-yard punt and that is all a 40-yard dash is worth. I don't know why we have linemen run 40s, they run 18 inches, so why do they need to run 40s? The game has changed and some of the old traditional things we have allowed to stay and I am not sure why we do. They want to see attitude and they want to see work ethic and get to know the personality of the guys. They want to ask us our opinions."

On Derrick Johnson and Cedric Benson: "No doubt they are two of the best players in the country. I saw Derrick today and told him in truth that tomorrow is not the most important day. He has already proven enough to get with a team. After he gets with a team, it is important how he plays then."