NAPA - Maybe there is something to the lights.
Javon Walker looked more into this practice than he's looked all of camp.
He was running with enthusiasm, and making jokes to the sidelines.
"I'm going to be ill," Walker said. "Friday."
(For those of you who don't know, ill is good in this case.)
Then he gestured as if he were making a one-handed catch and spinning it to the turf.
While working against a scout defense, Walker made a catch on a post route that was at least 20 yards down field, sprinted to the end zone which was about another 20 yards away and tossed the ball in the air to himself before a faux dunk on the goal post.
This doesn't mean Walker is OK and everything is smooth sailing from here. But maybe Walker is getting the message that Lane Kiffin wants a good effort every time out.
Walker looked really eager to run routes well during drills, too. He'd looked lethargic at times, dropping passes and receivers coach James Lofton stayed on him to do more.
Night practice notes
*Walker, S Jarrod Cooper, LB Ricky Brown, G Cooper Carlisle, C Jake Grove, QB Andrew Walter, WR Ronald Curry, WR Drew Carter, DT Tommy Kelly and OL Fred Wakefield are all the players that missed the morning practice that were back on the field.
LB Grant Irons (hamstring), CB John Bowie (knee) and S Greg Wesley (back) did not practice.
Walter threw a few passes after being rested because of a tired arm.
*DT Terdell Sands did not practice to rest his knee.
*During special teams practice, DE Jay Richardson and DT Josh Shaw were teasing T Mario Henderson, who was practicing fielding a fair catch in case a team decided to kick to one of the up men. They were willing to bet $100 Henderson wouldn't catch it. Henderson did, jumping to catch the football. Richardson, a former tight end, casually caught the ball on his turn.
*Without a backup kicker in camp, the Raiders let the JUGS machine do the work for K Sebastian Janikowski for much of kickoff practice. KR/S Tyvon Branch handled the bulk of the duties with Chris Johnson chipping in.
*The offense and defense worked against scout teams in preparation for Friday's game. Tomorrow the team will have a short walkthrough in preparation.
*WR Johnnie Lee Higgins, S Rashad Baker, WR Drisan James and CB Michael Waddell took turns fielding punts after practice.
--Jason Jones
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