Football Southern Conference

Wofford Holds Final Football Spring Scrimmage

The Wofford football team closed spring practice under a steady rain
this afternoon at Gibbs Stadium with the defense holding the offense
scoreless in a 57-play scrimmage.

The offense did have its share of highlights, including a 49-yard pass
completion from Jeff Zolman to Shiel Wood for the longest play of the
day. Wood, a rising junior from Spartanburg, S.C., had four receptions
for 99 yards. He was also on the receiving end of a 26-yard completion
from fellow Spartanburg native Trey Rodgers.

Aaron Johnson was the leading rusher with 52 yards on five carries,
including a 42-yard gain for the scrimmage's longest run. Gabriel
Jackson totaled 38 yards on 14 attempts. Jeff Sullivan, battling for
the No. 2 fullback position behind J.R. McNair, had 36 yards on four
carries, including a 20-yard gain. Zolman rushed for 40 yards on eight
attempts while completing 5-of-9 passes for 75 yards. Rodgers was
4-of-5 in the air for 55 yards.

Defensive tackle Lee Basinger helped key the effort on his side of the
ball. He tipped a pass and nearly caught the deflection for what would
have been an easy touchdown. Free safety Tony Jefferson had a key sack
on a 1st-and-goal play at the 7-yard line. Nose tackle Katon Bethay had
a sack on the second play of the scrimmage while cornerback Jonathan
Wheeler added a fumble recovery.

"It was a productive spring," Wofford coach Mike Ayers said. "We looked
at a lot of stuff offensively and worked a lot of young kids
defensively.

"I believe we're going to have a good offense and a good defense. The
effort was tremendous. We got after each other hard. We probably would
have had a great spring if we had a few more guys healthy. We had some
injuries early with some key guys, but that's just part of the spring.
Hopefully, we'll have those guys ready by the fall."

The Terriers closed spring practice with their traditional last lap for
the graduating senior class.

Wofford opens the 2003 season on Aug. 30 at Air Force.

"We're a young football team," Ayers said. "We've got a lot of work to
do. We have a long, long way to go before we can be ready to go to
Colorado Springs and play Air Force.

"We made some progress. We have a lot of young kids that are learning a
great deal. Hopefully, by the time we finish two-a-days in that hot
August sun, and a little dryer than what it's been this spring, we'll be
ready to go."