Defensively, the Wildcat defenders have had free reign to fly around and place the offense under as much pressure as possible. The question of whether that philosophy has been effective will at least be partially answered as the Wildcats prepare for today's scrimmage, the team's second of camp.

Also, with the season opener just two weeks away, a trip to Boise State looms on the horizon.

"We're making big strides," said junior cornerback Terrell Cloud. "We're trying to come out with aggression. When the whole defense is live, we're making plays all over the field."

Coach Ron McBride agreed that the defense has made improvements Monday and Tuesday. However, he also was encouraged by the offensive line, which is charged with protecting his newest weapon, transfer quarterback Jimmy Barnes.

"The second offensive line improved quite a bit, so we have more guys that we can count on to play during games," he said. "We had too many drops by receivers. We need to possess the ball better; we've turned the ball over too many times in practice.

"The defense has done a good job knocking the ball out. Today, the offense did a better job of possessing the ball so the defense didn't have a chance."

McBride isn't even entertaining thoughts about the highly-publicized BSU Broncos - at least not in public.

"We're just concentrating on getting through, what's today, Tuesday? We're not worried about games," McBride said. "Just what we have to get done today."

As for McBride's players, that's another matter.

"We're just trying to get on the same page so we can go out there and beat Boise," receiver Bryant Eteuati said.

"Last year, the defense was great. They're lifting us to better and our offense is getting better as we go at it in practice."

Everybody hurts

Sophomore running back Trevyn Smith, the Big Sky Conference's leading rusher in 2006, is still a few days away from participating in full contact drills. The 5-foot-9, 210-pounder pulled a right hamstring last week.

"We've got too many guys in yellow [non-contact] shirts," McBride said.

martyr@sltrib.com