After a much needed day off on Tuesday, the Ravens were back on the field for an early morning practice on Wednesday under sunny skies at the Under Armour Performance Center in Owings Mills.
Much has been reported already about the play of the Ravens defensive line through the first week of training camp and the hits just keep coming from the group made up of youth and a little bit of veteran savvy.
One player in particular that continues to impress day in and day out has been Brent Urban. On Wednesday, the second-year defensive end wreaked havoc on the offense against the first and second team units. The former fourth-round pick was responsible for two batted balls at the line of scrimmage and two would-be sacks against Matt Schaub.
Urban was off to an impressive camp last year before suffering an ACL tear forcing him to spend his entire rookie season on injured reserve. After a grueling offseason of rehabilitation, Urban has been a force to be reckoned with along a deep defensive line.
His success could spell trouble for fellow defensive end DeAngelo Tyson who is vying for a roster spot.
Will Hill Thrills
The Ravens defensive backfield logged another solid practice with safety Will Hill leading the charge. During redzone drills starting at the 20-yard line, Hill put on his best performance of the summer so far. On three consecutive downs, he broke up potential touchdown passes to Steve Smith Sr., Michael Campanaro and rookie Nick Boyle. He had five total pass breakups during the three hour practice.
With Matt Elam out for the season, Hill took over all the reps on the first team defense alongside of Kendrick Lewis which is likely what we will see week one against the Broncos, barring injury.
Offense rules in one-on-one drills
Prior to the start of full team drills, quarterbacks, tight ends and receivers took on corners and safeties in the ever entertaining one-on-one drills. With Matt Scahub under center, the receiving unit won seven of the 10 match-ups despite a Schaub interception courtesy of cornerback Quinton Pointer.
Joe Flacco‘s took 13 snaps during the drill with his receiving unit being successful on 10 plays. Wide receivers Kamar Aiken, Michael Campanaro along with Steve Smith Sr., Darren Waller and Jeremy Butler all made nice plays against the first team and second team pass defenders.
Other Observations
Fullback Kyle Juszczyk looks like a player without a home in Marc Trestman’s offense. On Wednesday, the 2013 fourth-round draft pick was only involved in running plays. It’s not clear at this time exactly what role “Juice” will have in 2015 but hopefully the new OC will make use of the fullback’s 
ability to catch passes out of the backfield.
The punt return game featured just four players fielding kicks during special team drills spread sporadically throughout the morning practice. Michael Campanaro, Lardarius Webb, Aldrick Robinson and Asa Jackson all saw reps. The battle for the returner spot is seemingly wide open and it makes one wonder if the returner is on the roster just yet.
No tempers have flared yet as training camp is well under way but my money on the first fight of the summer will involve rookie tight end Nick Boyle. Boyle spent most of practice going against linebacker Courtney Upshaw with both players equally splitting the battles. The rookie Boyle is fiery and the two jawed at one another frequently well after the plays were over.
Play of the Day
During 11 on 11 drills, the scenario was set with the offense setting up their opening driving from the defense’s 40 yard line. Â On 2nd and 10, quarterback Joe Flacco tossed a beautiful touchdown pass to Kamar Aiken despite Jimmy Smith‘s tight coverage drawing cheers from the offensive unit.
Quote of the Day
” Go for it Harbs.” Terrell Suggs to John Harbaugh following a third down stop by the defense which prompted Harbaugh’s response “We are going for it!”, from Harbaugh.
On the very next play the offense converted the first down on a 20-yard pass from Flacco to Butler.
Not Practicing
Wide receivers Marlon Brown (back) and Breshad Perriman  were both absent as were cornerbacks Tray Walker and Chris Greenwood. Elvis Dumervil returned after missing the past few days with Tendinitis.
Special Note
More than 50 children from the Casey Cares Foundation were present for practice today to get a first hand look at the team this summer. Following practice, players signed autographs and posed for pictures with the kids.
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