BUFFALO, N.Y. - After a week's worth of practices, UB football broke up its routine with an intrasquad scrimmage and gave players a unique opportunity to earn playing time.

"It's not 7-on-7 and take off and wrap up all the time. You get to see guys in a pressure situation," says head coach Lance Leipold. "It's for real. You get to see how they process, how they handle it. Good and bad. Something goes wrong, how do they battle back?"

"Anytime you can go live and play like a game setting at practice, it's really fun," says quarterback Tyree Jackson. "The offensive line did a great job. Young guys stepped up, and receivers made plays."

"It's definitely fun. Getting a chance to guy live with the guys," says running back Johnathan Hawkins. "Especially the o-line, they did a great job moving people out of the way. It feels good to get that chemistry with them."

As fun as the scrimmage was for players, the focus was on underclassmen to earn starting jobs or prove they belong as second-stringers. 

"Coming out here in a scrimmage is really a golden opportunity for younger guys to get onto the field," says Hawkins. "There's a lot of good things out of that young group."

One young Bull that stood out was Tito Overton - the sophomore receiver played sparingly as a freshman and didn't record any receptions a year ago.

"Seeing guys like Tito Overton make big catches - that's big for their confidence," says Jackson. "That's big for me, having chemistry with those guys. Those guys are going to help us at some point during the season."