When asked who was the star of this spring’s first scrimmage, Coach Smart, after his I-don’t-want-to-star-anyone disclaimer, mentioned running back Brian Herrien’s performance.
 
 
“Offensively, Brian Herrien is guided we were going to get the ball to and find out what he could do and scrimmage situations. He did pretty well. He ran the ball really hard, had a couple of long, explosive runs. He’s a tough competitive guy. If I had to say somebody stood out, I guess I would say he did.”
 
 
Smart went on to add that J.R. Reed also had a good day:
 
 

 
 
“J.R. Reed had quite a few tackles. Of course, that is not a good sign when your safety is leading your team in tackles because the ball is getting back there too much.”
 
 
When asked if Reed could have a role on the 2017 defense, Kirby noted emphatically:
 
 
“Absolutely, he could have a role. Right now, he is flashing speed speed, athleticism, toughness and I am tough on him – I’m out there every day challenging this guy because I think he can be a really good player. He is fast, his physical and he is smart but he hasn’t played in as many games, he hasn’t played in the system…This kid is striking people. He’s playing hard. He’s running hard… He could crack the starting lineup if he continues doing what he is doing.”
 
 
Kirby’s comments begin at the 5:42 mark on the video below: