Football Southern Conference

Wofford Holds First Spring Scrimmage

The Wofford College football team held its first scrimmage of spring practice, consisting of 77 plays in just over an hour, under a hot sun April 20 in Gibbs Stadium.

"Overall, the kids were trying and working hard," Ayers said. "Our ball security was terrible. We've got to do a much better job securing the football.

"We had some big plays. We have some quarterbacks that can be creative and make things happen. Defensively, we flew around pretty well but did not tackle well in space and that's a problem. When you're playing quick people and good backs, you have to be down in your legs and have more than one guy running to the football.

"Overall, with the limited amount of time we've had and the amount we've put in, I think the kids did a pretty good job."

Rising sophomores Jonathan Carey and Trey Rodgers split time at quarterback as they continued their battle to win the starting job.

"There was a lot of good and a lot of bad out of both of them," Head Coach Mike Ayers said. "We just have to get them where they are more consistent.

"Anytime that you want to score and move the sticks, the big thing is consistency in your execution. We'd have a great play and then we'd have a turnover or we'd have a guy go the wrong way. We're playing a ton of young guys up there and it's just a matter of them getting reps. The more reps you get the less you have to think and the better you'll execute."

Carey completed 9-of-15 passes for 59 yards, including a two-yard scoring toss to Marcus Gilmore on a 4th-and-goal play. Carey's 50 yards rushing on 10 carries tied him for team-high honors with Jesse McCoy, who ran for 50 yards on just four attempts. Carey, a native of Jonesboro, Ga., who did not see game action last season, had a 20-yard gain on his first carry of the morning.

Rodgers led his unit on a 75-yard scoring drive on the first possession of the scrimmage. The sophomore from Spartanburg, S.C., hit Curtis Nash, his former teammate at Dorman High School, with a 15-yard completion on his first attempt in the air. Rodgers capped the drive with a 16-yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Prochak, a rising junior from crosstown rival Spartanburg High School.

Rodgers was 4-of-8 for 32 yards on the day while adding 32 yards rushing on 11 carries, including an 18-yard scramble on a 3rd-and-10.

Rising sophomore halfback Ben Mungin was the top receiver with three catches for 29 yards while fullback J.R. McNair rushed for 21 yards on six attempts.

Defensive standouts included a pair of Terriers seeing action at new positions. With three-time All-SoCon nose tackle Nathan Fuqua not participating due to injury, Anthony Jones slid over from his normal defensive tackle spot to the nose. Jimmy Freland, an inside linebacker as a freshman last season, performed well at outside linebacker. Also cited was All-SoCon strong safety Matt Nelson, outside linebackers Hondre McNeil and Teddie Whitaker, and inside linebackers LaRay Benton and Timmy Thrift.

The Terriers will begin their third week of spring practice when they return to the field Monday at 6:30 p.m. The next scrimmage will be next Saturday at 10 a.m.