CHATTANOOGA
UTC’S Allison Sees Attitude Adjustment With Football Team
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head football coach Rodney Allison sees something from this year’s Mocs team that he hasn’t seen since he arrived on campus in 2003.
He sees a winning attitude from veterans and newcomers alike.
“The most pleasing thing for me is that I can look in anybody’s eyes and see a positive attitude,” Allison said. “I think we have something here.”
Coinciding with the Mocs’ attitude adjustment was a spirited and competitive scrimmage Saturday at Finley Stadium, one of the best in the last three years.
While Allison called the scrimmage even between the offense and the defense, he did point out one apprehension.
“My only concern from the scrimmage was that we didn’t start out quickly on defense,” the third-year head coach said. “I am not comparing this year’s defense to last year’s. But we did not have a good first half. The defense came on as the game went on. It was a pretty even scrimmage for the most part.”
After taking Sunday off, the Mocs held two practices Monday, a morning and an evening session. The evening session was interrupted by lightning in the area. After returning to the McKenzie Arena for about 30 minutes, the squad began to run through drills on the arena floor. But after five minutes, Allison sent the team back to Scrappy Moore Field for the remainder of the evening.
The Mocs had enough daylight to run nine periods, ending with the first-team offense taking on the first-team defense in live, full-contact, scrimmage-like situations. Sophomore running back Lironnie Davis provided a highlight for the offense with a 60-yard touchdown run, while freshman defensive back Jeffrey Harrison picked off an Antonio Miller pass for the defense.
UTC returns to practice Tuesday at 6 p.m. All practices are open to the public.
The Citadel
Freshmen Begin to Stand Out As Two-A-Days Begin
CHARLESTON, SC ? First-year coach Kevin Higgins, while experiencing his first two-a-day practice at The Citadel, pointed that several freshmen have already caught his eye.
“Defensively, Tillman Millhouse and Dante Allen are getting acclimated very well and are quickly showing some skill,” Higgins said after the morning practice session that was held on Willson Field. “Both have good feet and are promising defensive backs.”
Millhouse, a 5-9, 160-pounder from Summerville, earned numerous all-state accolades last season and participated in the Shrine Bowl while Allen, a 6-0, 170-pounder from Fayetteville, GA, was an all-county and all-region selection.
Higgins indicated that another freshman off to a good start is punter Mark Kaspar of College Station, TX, who, Higgins says “has good technique and is punting very well.”
In Monday morning’s session, the Bulldogs installed several different screens with their wide receivers and backs. They also worked on the timing of releasing the offensive line on pass plays and with the location of the throws by the quarterbacks.
Wideout Ta’Mar Jernigan, a sophomore who pulled in four receptions for 59 yards last year, is another who Higgins is watching carefully.
“Ta’Mar is running his routes much better and consistently,” Higgins said of the native of Lake City, FL. “He has shown great improvement since spring workouts.”
In other news on the offense, Higgins announced that freshman Josh Haney of Fairburn GA, who was the Fayette County Offensive Player of the Year last year and son of eight-time Mr. Olympia Lee Haney, has been moved from quarterback to wide receiver.
“Josh is showing a lot of talent right now and we felt it was in everyone’s best interest ? especially his ? for him to move to wide receiver,” Higgins said. “We think he’ll do well there.”
In the afternoon’s practice, the Bulldogs worked on their offensive and defensive goal line and short-yardage situations, including two 15-minute live sessions in which Higgins referred to them as being “valuable” to the overall scheme.
Tuesday’s practice is slated for 2 p.m. and will be held on Summerall Field. Two-a-days continue on Wednesday and Friday with a single practice set for Thursday.
FURMAN
Injuries, Frustrations Mount in Furman Preseason Camp
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Walking off the practice field Monday following his team’s afternoon workout, Furman head coach Bobby Lamb reeled off his squad’s growing list of injured players and the impact it was having on his team’s practice plans.
“From a coaching standpoint, a practice like today is frustrating because you’ve got (receivers) Brian Stone, Garrett Inman, Patrick Sprague, and John Rust all out with injuries, so it’s tough when you try to work on the timing of your passing game without half your receiving corps.”
Inman, Sprague, and Rust are sidelined with hamstring strains, and Stone is suffering from a strained quadricep.
While the receiving corps has been hit hard by injuries, several defensive ends have also been forced to the sideline the last couple of days, including Brandon Williams (shoulder), Hugh Williamson (hamstring), B.J. Williams (knee), and Kyle McKinney (knee).
“We moved Chris Truss from tight end and Philip Morris from linebacker to defensive because we are starting to get thin at that position. Of course injuries are a two-way street, because you’ve got freshman getting a lot of reps and they’ll now be better prepared to know what to do.”
One bright spot on the health front was the return of junior All-America defensive end Roy Ravenell, who had missed the first week of practice following minor foot surgery earlier this month.
“It was great to see Roy out there today. He is an outstanding football player and a big part of our defense.”
Monday saw Furman work on two-minute offense and defensive packages.
“We’ve got just about everything inserted on offense and defense, so now we’ve got to play football and do a lot of situational work.
Furman will practice at 3:30 Tuesday.
Notes: Redhsirt freshman defensive tackle Essex Taylor (hip) and true freshman linebacker Shaun Van Rensburg (shoulder) also missed Monday’s practices but are expected to return to action within a few days according to head athletic trainer Phil Hedrick.
WESTERN CAROLINA
WCU Football Has First Scrimmage of 2005 Preseason
Justin Clark Was 14-of-18 for 206 Yards
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina junior quarterback Justin Clark completed 14-of-18 passes for 206 yards with three touchdowns and an interception, spreading the ball to nine different players, in the Catamounts’ first scrimmage of the 2005 preseason, which was practice number 12 since camp began on August 6. Throughout the scrimmage, the first offensive and defensive units faced each other with the second units facing other another as well.
Clark, who completed seven straight after missing on his first attempt, capped the impressive string with a 61-yard touchdown to transfer wide receiver Jomo Fagan. On second and long, Clark avoided the pressure, sprinted out to his right and found the streaking Fagan. Clark would throw an interception to end his string of completions, but would finish the scrimmage by completing 6-of-8 passes with scores of 34 and 20 yards to Eddie Cohen and Lamont Reid, respectively.
“We had good intensity and enthusiasm tonight,” said fourth-year head coach Kent Briggs. “We will watch the film and think this was a good scrimmage to evaluate. We are getting better, we but still have a lot of work to do. We should be able to run the ball as the offensive line is showing improvement. Also, our quarterbacks are doing a good job in our ball control passing game and controlling the ball is critical in the Southern Conference. We have a good attitude and work ethic and, if we stay healthy, we should be very competitive this season.”
The defense set the tone early as John Martin had a pass break up on the first play, forcing a three and out. The second team offense then moved the ball, thanks to a 38-yard run by Nicholas Wishart down the left sideline. Wishart, who had six rushes for 67 yards, also had an impressive 17-yard carry later in the scrimmage. A pass break up by freshman Darrell Gray helped stop second unit’s first drive.
When the first team offense took the field for its second series, Clark began moving the team. First, Clark hit Fagan for a three-yard first down, followed by a Darius Fudge a 17-yard run and a Clark-to-James Singletary 22-yard first down getting inside the 30. Redshirt freshman Jeff Bradley came through with a sack on third down to force a change of possession.
A pair of freshmen defenders had back-to-back big plays on the second units’ second series as Dieza Blue led a group of Catamounts for a tackle for loss and Brandon Breeden picked off a Josh Lee pass. However, the offense got the momentum back on Clark’s 61-yard TD strike to Fagan, which was followed by a Stephen Brown PAT. The second defensive unit, led by a trio of freshmen, once again held the offense in check as Jacob Wilson registered a sack with Keanon Orr and Travis Osborne teaming up on a sack.
James Conklin then got the first defense back on track, teaming with Felipe Foster for a TFL and getting a solo TFL. The series ended with an interception by Carlton Bailey. After the interception, Clark regained his momentum to convert three first downs ? a 10-yard completion to Morrio Clark, a 15-yard screen pass to Fudge and last a 34-yard TD to Cohen. Brown once again tacked on the PAT.
The defense forced three and outs on the final two series of regular scrimmaging, highlighted by a tackle for loss by Robbie Sovie and Joe Clark.
The end of the scrimmage saw the team work on situations. The defense held the offense without a first down on six of seven chances facing third and short yardage. The team then moved inside the red zone. The first play was a Clark-to-Reid 20-yard TD pass. The defense then came to life, forcing a three and out. A pass interference spoiled TFLs by Foster, Conklin and Bradley. With new life, the offense moved to the one yard line on a Clark to Reid 13-yard pass only to have a field goal attempt fail.
The scrimmage ended with three series from the one yard line. Reid made an impressive run to score on the first play. On the second play of the second series, Fudge broke the plain for a TD. The scrimmage came to a close with a fumble, which was recovered by Mitchell Dukes.
Passing: Justin Clark 14-18, 260 yds., 3 TD, 1 INT; Michael McQueeney 0-5; Josh Lee 1-4, 5 yds.
Receiving; Lamont Reid 3-36, 1 TD; Darius Fudge 2-14; Eddie Cohen 2-39, 1 TD; Jomo Fagan 2-71, 1 TD; James Singletary 1-22; Michael Hines 1-6; Kyle Garland 1-5; Morrio Clark 2-15; J.C. Brown 1-5.
Rushing: Nicholas Wishart 6-57; Mike Malone 3-2; Darius Fudge 8-20.
Punting: Tim Mayse 5 for 44.4 avg.; Stephen Brown 3 for 39.3 avg.
WOFFORD
Second week of practice begins for Wofford running backs
August 15, 2005
After taking Sunday off for meetings, the Wofford football team returned to Snyder Field at 6 p.m. Monday for a three-hour session as it began its second week of preseason practice. The Terriers, who are ranked No. 21 by The Sports Network in its preseason poll, are preparing for the Sept. 3 opener at Gibbs Stadium versus Georgetown (Ky.).
"The younger kids are doing really, really well," said running backs coach Freddie Brown. "At this point, the learning curve is still pretty sharp. The demand on them is tremendous right now for those young guys.
"Our seniors have really stepped up and taken charge of things in the huddle. They are leading and teaching almost as much as I am right now.
"Our younger guys do look promising."
Brown, a 1991 Wofford graduate, is in his 11th total year at Wofford. He began his coaching duties in February 1999 and also serves as the Terriers' head track & field coach.
His primary duties this season will be getting the backfield ready to play in the wingbone offense.
Senior Gabriel Jackson (Dahlonega, Ga.), who is the Southern Conference's second-leading rusher after tallying 647 yards on a league-best 7.0 per carry average, returns at the halfback slot.
At the other halfback position, senior Corey Dunn (Lexington, Ky.) is penciled in as the starter. He was fifth on the squad in 2004 with 239 yards rushing. He averaged 5.7 yards per carry and scored three touchdowns.
In the running back slot is sophomore Michael Hobbs (Andalusia, Ala.). During his freshman campaign, he nearly matched Jackson's per carry average with a 6.9 mark.
"We feel really good about Hobbs and fellow sophomore Adrian Young as both kids are progressing extremely well at this point," noted Brown. "From a halfback standpoint, Jackson has had an outstanding camp to date. Dunn seems to be as strong as he has ever been. We feel good about our backfield situation.
"The offense contains multiple sets, alignments and formations. Just hundreds of plays as well. It is a lot for the kids, but we recruit bright kids that can handle the load. That is one of the things that makes us good in the long run is that we are able to do that.
"The story about Wofford is that it is about the right kid in the right system."
Wofford will continue with the same routine Tuesday by having meetings and lifting during the day and then practice at 6 p.m.