Daniel Sepulveda update from Latrobe

I arrived to camp on Thursday 08/06. I think the first player that I saw was Daniel Sepulveda walking on the practice field. I've seen him in person before, but every time you see this guy you ask yourself "He's a punter?" The guy is huge, he has a body you can compare to a spartan warrior from the movie '300.' A very nice guy, too. Of course he gets as many ladies as Troy Polamalu screaming at him but he stops and signs autographs for all of them.

It was good to see him. We've all missed him. After his tore his ACL in his right leg(for a second time in his life) no doubt we've missed his services.

When Sepulveda walked near me, I noticed that he had a brace on. I'm definitely not a medical expert, so I can't tell you what that meant exactly. To me it looked like a pretty hefty support, going from below the knee to the mid thigh area. I asked Sepulveda how his knee felt. He said "It feels pretty good." I let him know that we are happy to see him back this year and to stay healthy out there.

Once practiced started, I kept an occasional eye on him. I updated everyone on twitter and let them know that Daniel Sepulveda was in a knee brace and was not punting. I'm sure this worried a couple of people. He ended up not doing much this session, and didn't touch one ball with his foot. Also, who knows what he's been doing prior to that day and even in the session prior to that one.

There was good news though. The next session was the night practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Sepulveda arrived, wearing his brace again, but looked much more lively. He was running around, throwing the football and once again, receiving screams from the ladies. I was able to grab a video:

The guy is a poster boy for athleticism. Also in this video you can see the brace I was talking about. He can throw the ball nicely, I should add. We all should remember the pass to Najeh Davenport on a fake punt play a couple of years ago against the rams.

So yeah, he looks pretty good starting out. I just wanted to seem him punt. And then, he finally did. I wasn't able to get them all on video, but he was booming them. From the goal line he was getting them to the opposite 30 yard line on most tries. It was amazing to watch. I tried my best to capture one:

Assuming he's on the ten yard line, that ball lands on the opposite 25 yard line so there's a 65 yard punt right there. He also had to deal with a high snap.

The next video, he punts from the 40 yard line. The ball goes so high and with the lights and all I lose it on camera. You can even hear me say "Where the hell is it." I did catch the tail end of it coming down, though.

Check out my other posts with more videos from the latrobe stadium night practice here:
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2009/8/8/981888/my-thoughts-on-latrobe-stadium

Also today is my last day in latrobe but follow me on twitter for a couple of real time updates from the practice. Thanks!