U of L football practice notes from Monday

Saturday's scrimmage at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium revealed a few things for University of Louisville football coaches, and they spent Monday correcting what safety Terell Floyd called "mistakes on little things."

"We made a couple mistakes on little things, as in technique and stuff like that, but we can fix those," Floyd said.

But the optimism was still there two days after the scrimmage, which confirmed the camp progression of the first-team offense and a few key elements on the first-team defense.

Floyd's moved over to safety, and Andrew Johnson's moved into the first team as a cornerback. Louisville's players got rave reviews from their coaches, defensive tackle DeAngelo Brown said, particularly the defensive line, an area where depth was an issue as camp started.

"We got in all our checks," Floyd said. "Our D-line got off the ball. We got to the quarterback a couple times. We got our blitzes in there. We came free a couple times."

Louisville's players enjoyed dinner and a movie after Saturday's scrimmage and rested on Sunday, and the goals this week have changed slightly from the previous two weeks of practices.

The coaches are cutting back on the playbook installation and now focusing in on technique and fundamentals. The preparations for Miami began months ago, but on Monday, they begin in earnest.

U of L coach Bobby Petrino has his first game-week press conferences next Monday, and the looming season is getting more and more real by the day for the players.

"There's a lot of things we have to work on, but that's all we do in the film room," Floyd said. "We try to fix every little thing we can."

MONDAY STANDOUTS

• Floyd picked out Johnson for praise on Monday, saying the senior corner has done well with the first-team unit. Johnson, a Miami native, had an interception against the first-team offense in Saturday's scrimmage.

• Brown said junior-college transfer Pio Vatuvei and redshirt freshman Johnny Richardson have been helpful additions on the defensive line and have made significant progress in recent days to add depth behind the first teamers.

NOTABLE

• Floyd said safety Gerod Holliman serves as his in-practice, in-game, in-film-study coach. "He's a guy I can ask questions when I make mistakes," Floyd said. He's re-learning safety after moving to cornerback when he started college. He played safety at Port St. Lucie High.

• Junior-college transfer Pio Vatuvei, recruited as a defensive end, said he's playing more tackle in camp so far. He's emerged as a valuable backup option on the D-line and will likely be used more in speed-rush situations.

QUOTABLE

• "We're just focusing on our technique and trying to close down on some of the plays. They're cutting back on the install." -- nose tackle DeAngelo Brown

INJURY UPDATE

• Floyd (forearm) said he was 100 percent on Monday after taking a knock during the team scrimmage on Saturday/ LB Stacy Thomas (hand) practiced on Monday. He played with a small cast on his injured hand on Saturday.

• WR Matt Milton (back) is going full speed. The status of RB Michael Dyer (bruised knee) is unclear.