To the casual fan it was hard to tell what was happening on the field during the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawk football intersquad game Thursday afternoon in Hardy M. Graham Stadium.

First-year head coach Matt Griffin and his staff didn't have any trouble. They saw plenty of effort and improvement. Griffin said his team ran about 40 repetitions in the hour-long open scrimmage.

“The guys made a good effort this afternoon. They played with a lot of enthusiasm and hustle,” Griffin said. “If they continue to work hard we are going to be fine.”

Offensively, tailback Arthur Bryant (5-10, 205 pounds, from Lake City, Fla.) was impressive as were quarterbacks Brady Wahlberg (5-11, 174 pounds, Lynn Haven, Fla.) and Chad Nash (6-0, 180 pounds, Fort Pierce, Fla.). Equally impressive as Bryant, Wahlberg and Nash, was the entire receiving corps, Griffin said.

“The quarterbacks were impressive on the field and off the field because they picked up our system and were able to execute it,” Griffin said.

“The receiving crew was impressive because they learned our system and showed they could run the routes and catch the ball.”

The Skyhawk defense did not go unnoticed. Among those making an impression were Thomas Harris (6-4, 220 pounds, Dyersburg), P.J. Ezell (6-3, 285 pounds, Munford), Jordan Hankins (5-11, 215 pounds, Hohenwald, Tenn.) and John Gray (6-3, 230 pounds, Danville, Ky).

“These guys stepped it up a notch each day during practice,” Griffin said. Hankins, like a couple of others, missed several practices because of an injury (concussion). “Jordan was able to get it together and play. He’s a senior and we need him out there. He’s a leader for us.”

Although kicker Brent Harris didn’t get to show off his foot late in the scrimmage during the two-minute drills, Griffin said the Martin native is a solid kicker. “He’s a weapon for us, and people will have to respect him.”

The controlled scrimmage marked the end of 15 days of spring practice. The Skyhawks will open their 2003 season at home Aug. 28 against Austin Peay. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Griffin doesn’t know what opposing coaches will say about his Skyhawks. “I would hope they say ‘we have a great work ; we are well coached; and they make great decisions.’”

Griffin said the greatest comment opposing coaches could make would be “our kids played every down.”

Time will tell and right now the only two attributes that Griffin is concerned about are “diligence and toughness.”