Hi, I'm a new BON'er, and a budding Longhorn Football freak!  I've been reading this excellent blog for a couple of months now, and wanted to say hi and actually post something for a change.  

I went to the first practice last night, and watched most of it.  It was the first time I'd attended a fall practice, and I was stoked to see so many fans and family members there, wearing orange, and cheering for their favorite players.  Once, a couple of kids sitting next to me hollered, "Sweeeeed, you the man!" and he flashed them a hook'em sign as he jogged by.  All in all, the vibe in the crowd was very good.

A couple of my impressions follow:

Erick Jackson looked AWESOME.  He was seriously rockin' it, and to me was the standout among all of the players on the secondary.  He worked hard, looked fluid, and even intercepted a pass.  Plus, he's tall, strong, and FAST.

Kirkendoll is indeed fast, but dropped some balls, and looked CONSIDERABLY smaller than everyone else around him.

Colt had several passes intercepted (hey--at least that bodes well for our secondary!).  His weight gain looks good, though, and his long passes were beautiful.  He seemed to have a good rapport with the other players and looked relaxed.

Akina is a bundle of energy!  He seems like he's doing great things with the guys.  He was running around, offering suggestions and words of encouragement, yelling and clapping.  A coaching dynamo.

Sweed rules.

Most of the WRs had some great catches.  Cosby in particular caught a crazy one, practically flipping over in the process.  Cosby looked great--very strong and accurate.

Jamaal's weight gain does not seem to have affected his speed.  He hung onto the ball well, too.

Shipley did not run drills.

Harris and Chiles both looked great.  I did not notice much difference between the two, but of course it's just the first practice.

The guys seemed very excited and eager, and had a ton of energy, and probably first-day-jitters, and so did make some silly mistakes.  But overall it looks like a great team!  Roll on, September!  Can't wait for the season.