The Citadel
Practice Report: Day Nine of Fall Camp
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel Football team was back in action for day nine of fall camp on Tuesday morning at the Maybank Triplets Practice Facility. The Bulldogs worked out once for three-hours that concluded with no reported injuries.
“We had a very good practice this morning,” said Bulldog Head Coach Kevin Higgins. “We had our first overtime scrimmage and our players handled that extremely well. We also had a goal line scrimmage with the one’s battling the ones and the twos battling the twos and worked our man-to-man red zone concepts as well.”
Into the second week of fall camp, the Bulldogs have suffered two injuries. Junior defensive lineman Terrence Reese suffered a sprained ankle and will be re-evaluated within the next week. Most recently redshirt freshman Scott Harward broke his ankle at Monday’s practice and is scheduled to have surgery on Thursday.
“Scott Harward had an outstanding summer working with our strength coaches,” Higgins said. “He was battling for the second slot position and played extremely well prior to this injury. Scott is a tough kid and we know he will rehab hard and hopefully be back with us in a couple of weeks.”
The Bulldogs will return to the Maybank Triplets practice field in full pads on Wednesday, Aug. 13 for their third two-a-day workout. Their first session will take place at 8 a.m. and they will return to the field at 3:15 p.m.
For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, visit the official home of The Citadel Athletics at www.CitadelSports.com.
Western Carolina
Catamount Football Resumes Two-a-Day Practices on Tuesday
Saturday’s two-a-day to include a scrimmage session in the afternoon
Cullowhee, N.C. ? Western Carolina resumed two-a-day practice on Tuesday, holding a morning session in full pads on the turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field before reconvening on the grass practice fields for an afternoon practice in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts.
The morning practice included 23 periods and lasted just over two hours, with the team breaking for lunch, afternoon meetings before the second session.
Talking with Western Carolina Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator, Matt Pawlowski, he was pleased with the progress of his unit in the grand scheme of preparing for the 2008 season.
“First off, we are still trying to learn the package,” Pawlowski said. “Everyday we install something new, see something different. Our number one priority is to get everybody lined up ? the fundamental of every defense is to get make sure at the snap of the football you have all 11 guys knowing their assignment, alignment and technique.”
He added, “The good thing right now is that our kids are playing hard. They are running to the football. They are doing these kind of things because we are demanding that they control their own effort on the field.”
The squad will hold one practice session a day over the next three days, hitting the turf Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings with additional activities scheduled in the afternoon and evenings.
On Wednesday, the team will attend the “Big Reveal,” the unveiling of WCU’s new athletics logo, at 4:00 pm in the Ramsey Center. Players will participate in the first-ever Catamount Football 101 clinic, an invitation-only event aimed at educating women on the intricacies of football, on Thursday evening. Following practice on Friday morning, the team will aid the WCU Welcome Team on Freshman Move-In day.
Western Carolina is scheduled to have a two-a-day practice on Saturday with the first one beginning at 8:00 am. The second practice will include scrimmage sessions beginning at 3:30 pm on the turf Whitmire Stadium / Waters Field.
Furman
TUESDAY FURMAN PRACTICE YIELDS MIXED RESULTS
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- After putting his squad through its first twin practice of the football preseason Monday, including a 50-play scrimmage, Furman head coach Bobby Lamb thought his team might struggle a bit on Tuesday, and he was right.
“We had a solid practice today but not great,” said Lamb following the two and a half hour sesson that included situational and red zone work, and the first goal line work of the preseason. “This is the toughest stretch of camp, with practices compressed in what seems like a short time frame, but it’s a time that is critical to us getting better as a football team.”
The Paladins also covered the punting game and worked on kickoff returns.
In the goal line session, the offense “scored a number of times, probably too much,” added Lamb, who cited the strong running of freshman tailback Walt Lenard among few individual highlights.
Tuesday’s practice may have offered the first break in competition for the squad’s placekicking chores with Matt Cesari making good on all three field goal attempts while Trent Hawk converted just one of three tries. Hawk is the Paladins’ returning punter.
Lamb also stated that sophomore center Dustin Chancellor will undergo surgery Thursday to repair a torn ACL in his right knee sustained in practice last Friday. Chancellor, who missed the entire 2007 campaign with the same injury in his left knee, is out for the season.
The Paladins will practice twice on Wednesday.
Georgia Southern
Fall Practice Report #12
Eagles battle elements during Tuesday’s three-a-day
STATESBORO, Ga. - Rain showers fell during the first half of Georgia Southern’s Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 12) football practice, the second of three scheduled that day. The Eagles officially surpassed the halfway point of preseason practice.
With kickoff at preseason top-ranked Georgia just 18 days away, the Eagles went through practices 14, 15 and 16 of the 29 scheduled during the preseason. During the first two practices Tuesday the Eagles wore full pads then came out at night in shells.
Not only did it rain during the afternoon, but the evening session had overcast conditions and was much cooler than practices last week. Head coach Chris Hatcher noted that the team is fighting through the midway point.
“It has gone pretty good, today has been cool out here. We have hit the grind of camp a little bit. I have been real pleased with some of our young players, Adam Urbano especially. He is going to play a lot and he has got to get better each and every day. Some of the freshmen are starting to fall by the wayside. A big concern for us is going to be depth this season,” said Hatcher. “I counted yesterday there could possibly be 14 players (freshmen) in our two-deep on offense. We are going to be inexperienced. We’re just going to have to live with those growing pains and keep things simple, let these guys have an opportunity to go out and be successful every Saturday. Our defense has got the upper hand right now and that is a good thing I guess. For our team offensively we are going to have to pick up our pace a little bit and hopefully we will start that tonight.”
Hatcher also said that the team will take full advantage of the remaining practices.
“We are no where we need to be to play a game right now. We are still evaluating some guys. We have a good idea who is going to be playing on Saturday, but we just haven’t found that right combination.”
Morning highlights included: Tim Camp made a diving catch and was able to hang onto the ball catching it with his knees... Brandon Echols came up with an interception... Lee Chapple and Garryon Taylor connected on a touchdown... Samair Baker took a handoff and broke loose into the secondary.
In the afternoon: Dylan Douglas intercepted a pass... Chapple threw a touchdown pass over the middle to Marcus Russ and also found Joe Haynie in 1-on-1 coverage for a score... Derek Heyden intercepted another pass during fall camp... Darrel Pasco broke up what would have been a touchdown pass in the endzone... Nick Bass hauled in a touchdown pass.
The Eagles return to practice on Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 13) at 1:30 p.m.
FREEDOM MAKES AN APPEARANCE: Georgia Southern’s mascot made an appearance at football practice Tuesday morning. Steve Hein, Director of the Center for Wildlife Education, brought out Freedom the Eagle.
“We just want to continue the exposure built upon the last several years. Like the football players, Freedom needs to get back into the swing of things,” said Hein. “He sees the action at the football field and we want to make it a positive experience. He is learning that training session is feeding session. Freedom loves Georgia Southern football, it is where he gets to eat a full meal deal.”
Appalachian State
Football Fall Camp Report ? Tues., Aug. 12
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University football approached the midway point of its 2008 fall camp with Tuesday’s two-and-a-half-hour practice at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With just one practice on Tuesday, per NCAA regulations, the session was a grueling one and in much of the group and team drills, it was the defense’s turn to flex its muscles.
Thanks to stout coverage led by cornerbacks Cortez Gilbert and Dominique McDuffie and safeties Leonard Love and Mark LeGree, ASU quarterbacks Armanti Edwards and DeAndre Presley were forced to pull down the ball and run throughout the group and full-team periods. Gilbert also stepped in front of a pass over the middle for a nifty interception during group work.
The play of the secondary was only evident when the pressure from the front seven didn’t reach the signal-callers first ? linemen Anthony Williams and John Rizor and linebacker D.J. Smith were among the Mountaineers to record sacks on the afternoon.
Despite the defensive brilliance, the hit of the day ? and perhaps of camp ? came from the offensive side of the ball. During full-team red-zone drills late in practice, the ASU offense ran a reverse to wide receiver T.J. Courman. As Courman came around the line of scrimmage from left to right, fellow wideout Blake Elder leveled a pursuing defender, sending the would-be tackler flying through the air and turning what might have been a loss into a gain of a few yards.
Other offensive highlights included Edwards eluding the rush and finding a wide-open Courman in the back of the end zone for a touchdown and running back Robert Welton scoring on a powerful 10-yard run during the red-zone period at the end of the afternoon.
It’s back to two-a-days for the Mountaineers on Wednesday. Despite the grueling task of practicing twice in one day in the summer heat, the Apps can take solace in the fact that Wednesday marks the 12th day of camp, making it the ceremonial midway point of the 24-day grind until classes begin at ASU on August 26.
Samford
Football Practices Through The Rain Tuesday
The Bulldogs worked out for about an hour and a half
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team practiced for about an hour and a half in full pads in a rain-soaked Seibert Stadium Tuesday morning.
The practice was the 11th practice of fall camp for the Bulldogs.
"We shortened practice a little with the rain," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We wanted to get in some goal-line work, and we had a good goal-line scrimmage at the end of practice. It was a good practice."
Sullivan said he saw some bright spots on both the offense and the defense during Tuesday's practice.
"A couple of young guys really caught your eye," Sullivan said. "Jeremy Towns made some nice plays, and that is good to see on defense. Jonathan Sillers made a couple of good runs. It was good on both sides. We were just glad to get this practice in."
Sullivan also said that fifth-year senior quarterback Dante Williams will undergo surgery and will miss the season due to a knee injury suffered on the second play of Saturday's scrimmage.
"We've lost Dante for the season," Sullivan said. "He's going to be captain for our first game, and what a leader he has been for all of the young quarterbacks. I can't say enough about Dante."
Samford will practice twice on Wednesday. The Bulldogs will practice in full pads at 8:20 a.m., and they will practice in shorts and helmets at 3:10 p.m.
Samford opens the 2008 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, when the Bulldogs play host to West Georgia. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff from Seibert Stadium.