Wofford
Wofford Football Practice Report
SPARTANBURG, SC ? After a single practice on Thursday afternoon, the Wofford College football team was back with two practice sessions on Friday. It was the fourth of six scheduled two-a-day practices this fall.
The first practice began at 8:45 am in full pads. The practice lasted only an hour and a half. The team worked skelly and kickoff return, with no hitting in the practice.
In the afternoon under cloudy skies, the Terriers returned to the field at 6:00 pm. The ninety-minute practice was held in shoulder pads and helmets. The seven-on-seven period included a two-minute drill, with Justice Joslin making several catches for first downs. Special teams worked on PAT and PAT block. The offense and defense worked separately for the final twenty minutes of practice.
“We did a lot of teaching today,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We are planning on having a pretty big scrimmage tomorrow, therefore we choked it back a bit in terms of hitting. We had an emphasis on the kicking game and worked on four phases today. Mainly we tried to tighten up on some things and get some of the guys sharper. We are going to try to push it as close as we can to a game situation tomorrow. We will do a full kicking game, and we will do more in terms of full-speed kicking game. We will play our defense, then we will play our offense and just let them play. I think if we come out of it with 100 plays and a healthy team, then we would have accomplished what we wanted to.”
The list of players held out of at least one practice on the day due to injury has been growing. This list included Jason Leventis, Keaton Thompson, Jordan Ingman, Mychael Johnson, Devin Reed, Hunter Hobson, Mitch Clark, John Starr, Johnson Richardson, Stev Davitte, Arsenio Parks and Andy Strickland. Most players will be back on the field for the scrimmage on Saturday.
Practices are held on the practice fields behind Gibbs Stadium. All practices are open to the public; however keep in mind that the schedule can change without notice. After taking the team photo on Saturday morning, the second scrimmage of the fall will take place at 7:00 pm at Gibbs Stadium.
Samford
SAMFORD FOOTBALL: ?DOGS PREP FOR SCRIMMAGE WITH PAIR OF CRISP WORKOUTS
--- Samford will hold its second major scrimmage of fall camp at 8:30 a.m., Saturday ---
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford football team held a pair of brisk, spirited practices Friday at Seibert Stadium as the Bulldogs continued their preparations for Saturday’s full-contact scrimmage. Samford worked out for approximately two hours in the morning and then held an hour-long session in the afternoon.
The Bulldogs will conduct their second major scrimmage of the fall season at 8:30 a.m., Saturday. Fans are welcome to attend the workout to be held at Seibert Stadium.
“The players have been working really hard all this week and we’re actually kind of a tired football team right now,” said Samford head coach Pat Sullivan. “That’s why we only practiced a little over an hour this afternoon because we are going to try to get one more really good scrimmage in tomorrow. I anticipate us working through about 100 plays and then we’ll have Sunday off for the players to get rested up.”
In Friday’s morning session, the Bulldogs practiced in shorts and shells, and spent most of the time in both team and individual drills.
During the upbeat two-hour workout, Samford continued to implement both its defensive and offensive strategies for the upcoming season. The team also worked on incorporating its special teams systems and ran through some three-quarter speed, 11-on-11 drills.
For a predominant portion of the morning workout, the Bulldogs remained in their position groups before combining to form a full compliment of both offensive and defensive team units.
“I don’t think there’s any question that we are much, much further along this season than we were last year,” said Sullivan. “I mean, it’s not even close, but are we where we want to be to contend for a championship? Probably not at this moment, but I like this football team and if we can stay injury-free for these last few days then I think we can be the best we can be.”
During the afternoon practice, a majority of the Bulldogs’ emphasis was placed on special teams and situational down and distance.
Following Samford’s final practice of the week, Sullivan highlighted some of the players that have shined during two-a-days.
“I really thought that Riley Hawkins had a good week and a great first scrimmage,” said Sullivan. “John Paul Fraites, our kicker, has also really done a good job for us, but right now we’re looking forward to tomorrow’s scrimmage and seeing who will stand out for us then.”
The Bulldogs will hold their second full-contact scrimmage of the fall season Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The estimated 100-play workout will be held at Seibert Stadium and fans are welcome to attend.
“We have a very young football team this season and we’re going to have to play a lot of guys,” Sullivan said. “We have a lot of competitions going on for starting positions right now and tomorrow’s scrimmage will be a great time for us to evaluate our players. I think that competition is a good thing and we’ll be able to see who’s capable of stepping up in crunch time.”
The Samford football team will begin its 2008 schedule Aug. 28, at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs welcome West Georgia to Birmingham for each team’s season-opener.
The Citadel
Bulldog Practice Report: Day 12 of Fall Camp
Charleston, S.C. ? The Citadel Football team returned to the Maybank Triplets Practice Facility for one morning practice on Friday for Day 12 of fall camp. There were no injuries reported.
“We worked several different situations today,” said Bulldog Head Coach Kevin Higgins. “We introduced our 4-minute drill as well as emphasized the game clock and 40-second play clock,” both of which are changes introduced by the NCAA this season.
“Our defense did an excellent job in using timeouts and getting the offense to punt the ball. We also did a third and medium scrimmage which was very productive,” Higgins added.
The Bulldogs will return to the Maybank Triplets practice field in full pads on Saturday, Aug. 16 for a morning scrimmage at 8 a.m. and then an afternoon walk-through at 3:15 p.m.
Elon
Phoenix Preseason Football Practice Update #15
ELON, N.C. ? With an emphasis on the passing game, newcomers shined as the Elon football team worked out for two hours and 30 minutes on the Hunt and Tucker Fields in upper pads on a muggy Friday morning for the 15th session of the 2008 Phoenix preseason football practice schedule.
The squad conducted three team periods ? one dealing with third-and-long situations, one emphasizing play action pass scenarios and one concentrating on the two-minute drill ? to go along with two pass skeleton periods and a stalk-block drill between the wide receivers and the defensive backs. The special teams worked on kickoff returns, punting, field goals and points-after-touchdown.
“I thought we had a decent tempo out here this morning,” Elon mentor Pete Lembo said. “We got a lot of reps in during our team periods and we are continuing to get good evaluations of our younger players.”
Freshman safety Andrew Straus blocked a punt during a punt protection drill. Straus continues to prove himself to be a heady player with a lot of savvy and an ability to pick up things quickly, according to Lembo.
Lembo also praised the freshman offensive line duo of Justin Ward and Clint Duggan, citing the promise they have shown throughout the fall so far. Freshman safety Zach Henderson grabbed an interception during a pass skeleton segment.
Terell Wilson continues to have an outstanding preseason, according to Lembo. The sophomore cornerback picked off a key pass during a two-minute drill. Meanwhile, sophomore defensive end Brandon Ward continues to produce a reliable pass rush and sophomore linebacker Brandon Wiggins hauled in a key interception during a team period.
“On the negative side today, I thought we had too many dropped balls by our wide receivers,” Lembo said. “For us to be effective at moving the chains, we need to be able to throw and catch. However, we will look forward to being back out here and ready to go tonight in full pads.”
When Elon returns to the Hunt and Tucker Fields at 7:30 p.m. Friday, it will mark the 16th session of the 2008 Phoenix preseason football practice schedule. All sessions are open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend.
Phoenix Preseason Football Practice Update #16
ELON, N.C. ? With an emphasis on the running game, members of the second of coach Pete Lembo’s three recruiting classes excelled as the Phoenix spent two hours on the Hunt and Tucker Fields in full pads on a cool Friday evening for a physical 16th session of the 2008 Elon preseason football practice schedule.
“Our offense had one of its best practices of the preseason so far,” Lembo said. “We ran the ball well tonight and the offense accomplished a lot of its goals in terms of conversions on third downs and scoring in the red zone. It was certainly a positive night for that side of the ball.”
The Phoenix ran two team periods ? the first one focusing on third-and-three and third-and-one situations and the second one concentrating on red zone and goal line scenarios ? as well as two pass skeleton segments. The special teams spent their time on punting, field goals and points-after-touchdowns to go along with a four-on-four kickoff coverage/kickoff return drill.
After a day off due to a minor injury, sophomore quarterback Scott Riddle returned to action to lead several stellar performances by his class. Sophomore wide receivers Lance Camp and Sean Jeffcoat stepped up and made plays, continuing to play with a lot of confidence. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Wiggins continued to make his presence known on the defensive side of the ball.
All three of Elon’s redshirt freshmen on the offensive line ? Rodney Austin, Ned Cuthbertson and Logan Hardin ? demonstrated the progress they have made with a year under their belts.
“It was a physical practice,” Lembo said. “There was good emotion and intensity out here tonight. Whenever you run the ball well, you are playing well upfront on the offensive line. That group is coming along nicely.”
For the first time this fall, Elon will take to Rhodes Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the 17th session of the 2008 Phoenix preseason football practice schedule. All sessions are open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend.
Western Carolina
Western Carolina Holds Morning Practice on Friday; Slated to Scrimmage on Saturday
Catamounts will hold scrimmage on Saturday at 3:30 pm; Meet the Cats slated for Aug. 21
Cullowhee, N.C. ? As Western Carolina freshmen began moving onto campus in advance of the fall semester, the Catamount football team hit the grass practice fields on Friday morning for its lone practice session of the day. The team will spend the afternoon in position and unit meetings before aiding with move-in day during the afternoon hours.
Freshmen team members will attend Friday evening’s Convocation ceremony in the Ramsey Center before the squad reconvenes for team meetings.
WCU is scheduled for an afternoon scrimmage on Saturday beginning at 3:30 pm at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.
Friday’s 16th practice included 26 periods over a two and a half hour time frame. The coaching staff has stressed intensity amidst a different schedule with an increasing number of outside distractions with more activity on campus. Each unit continued working on installation and execution before coming together for seven-on-seven segments and 11-man scrimmage sessions.
As the team winds down preseason workouts, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Keith Heckendorf stressed the importance of Saturday’s game-like session.
“Saturday’s scrimmage is big because it will let us find out where we are as a football team,” Heckendorf explained. “Offensively, we have some questions that we need to get answered. There is no better way (to do that) than to put them in a live game situation, let them go out there and play. Then, we will evaluate where we are at and start preparing for Shorter College.”
Heckendorf praised his five quarterbacks, including preferred walk-ons Jonathan Efird and Travis Monroe, and the three returning signal callers, senior Andy Horn, red-shirt sophomore Adam Hearns and red-shirt freshman Zack Jaynes.
“They’ve all done a great job competing,” said Heckendorf of his three main contenders for the starting role, Hearns, Horn and Jaynes. “We are going to have to name someone the starter. But right now, we are going to take it one day at a time and let these guys keep competing. Then, we will evaluate them after the scrimmage.”
On Friday, practice concluded with a two-minute drill competition with post-practice conditioning hanging in the balance. The Catamount offense started at its own 40-yard line with 1:25 on the clock under the direction of red-shirt freshman Adam Hearns. The Philadelphia, Pa., native connected on three-consecutive out routes to junior Kyle Garland and two to senior Donald James before an incompletion stopped the clock at 0:16.
On third and seven near midfield, Hearns found tight end Travis Osborne to move the chains and keep the drill alive. The offense spiked the ball on the ensuing play, bringing up 2nd and 10 from the 35 yard line. Hearns dropped back to pass, but the defense had smothered all of his options, so he took off, scrambling up the middle to the 27 and calling timeout with three seconds remaining.
From the 27 yard line, Hearns lofted a pass into a pack in the end zone where two defenders swatted it down. Red-shirt freshman receiver Josh Cockrell nearly made a diving stab at the last second, but he ball fell to the ground giving the defense the drill victory.
On the injury front, freshman Dee Jackson (knee) is listed as out, with linemen Victor Aquilina and Josh Reese, and wide receiver Sterlin James each also nursing knee injuries that will sideline them for the next 3-to-6 weeks. Also, transfer defensive lineman Elsmore Gabriel suffered a concussion during practice mid-week, but is expected to return by Monday.
Following Saturday afternoon’s scrimmage, the team will take Sunday off from the practice fields, mixing in running with meetings, before beginning fall classes on Monday.
The annual “Meet the Cats” practice is slated for Thursday, Aug. 21 at 6:00 pm, with gates opening at 5:00 pm. The concessions stand and stadium store will be open, as well as the ticket booths selling 2008 season tickets. Following the festivities, the players and WCU Cheerleaders will be on hand signing autographs.
Appalachian State
ASU Football Fall Camp Report ? Fri., Aug. 15
BOONE, N.C. ? Still recovering from Wednesday’s 12-series scrimmage and preparing for Saturday’s annual Fan Fest, Appalachian State University football practiced twice in shells (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts) on Friday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With Wednesday’s physically demanding tilt less than 48 hours behind them and what promises to be another hard-hitting Fan Fest scrimmage just around the corner, the Mountaineers continued to focus less on contact and more on execution during Friday’s two practices.
The morning’s final 11-on-11 period featured both the offense and defense working on their two-minute drills, while the afternoon’s full-team work included situations in which the offense got the ball at various points on the field, both deep in its own territory and on the opposite side of midfield.
For the second-straight day, wide receiver Brian Quick made quite an impression on the offensive side of the ball. The redshirt freshman’s performance was highlighted by a 40-yard touchdown on a post pattern, which came courtesy of a perfect pass from quarterback Armanti Edwards.
The defensive front put consistent pressure on Edwards and Co. throughout the day but the hit of the day came from reserve linebacker Coad Westra, who snuffed out a short crossing pattern and drilled the unsuspecting receiver to break up a pass.
Focus now turns to Saturday’s Fan Fest activities. The Kidd Brewer Stadium gates open at 4 p.m. and the Apps’ final scrimmage before the Aug. 30 season opener at LSU kicks off at 6 p.m. For more details on the free family event, click here.
Furman
FURMAN PREPARES FOR SATURDAY SCRIMMAGE
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- The Furman Paladins completed their third twin practice day of the preseason Friday in preparation for Saturday’s Verizon Wireless Purple-White Scrimmage in Paladin Stadium beginning at noon.
Furman’s Friday afternoon practice featured extensive work on special team as the Paladins began narrowing position decisions for the various squads leading up to the Aug. 30 season opener against Mars Hill. Among the most hotly contested jobs are place-kicking and kickoffs.
Junior Trent Hawk and senior Matthew Cesari are competing for the placekicking job vacated by the graduation of All-Southern Conference performer Scott Beckler, and battle has emerged for kickoff duties between redshirt freshman Chas Short and true freshman Matthew Gordon.
“We’ll continue to evaluate our kickers on a daily basis, but we probably won’t make a final decision until game week,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb Friday evening.
In Friday morning session, the Paladins focused on situational (down and distance) work and on the squad’s younger players.
As for Saturday’s scrimmage Lamb indicated his goal is approximately 100 plays, “but realistically we’ll probably be closer to 75-80 due to the fact that we have a number of players banged up.”
Wild Wings Cafe will offer a buffet lunch for $5 per person in the Paladin Stadium concourse beginning at 11:30 a.m. prior to the scrimmage.
Georgia Southern
Eagles Conclude Fall Camp
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern ended its fall football camp on Friday morning (Aug. 15), going through a two hour practice. Head coach Chris Hatcher and his Eagles spent most of the practice in various scrimmage situations.
Hatcher plans on giving his team the weekend off and Monday (the first day of classes) as well before resuming on Tuesday. The second year head coach was pleased on how Friday and all of camp finished.
“I thought it went well, we are mentally and physically tired and you can really see it in the younger players. We have been through 21 practices and we have really pushed everyone to the limit. We have a break over the weekend then we will come back and practice Tuesday and really begin to prepare for Georgia,” stated Hatcher. “This is the first year we have done this type of schedule. Too many years you get to game preparation, and instead of worrying about who you are playing you’re worried about conserving your players and just getting them to the game. I think by giving them this little break we ought to come back physically and mentally fresh so that we can get two good weeks of preparation for Georgia.”
During Friday’s practice, marking the 21st of 29 scheduled practices before the season-opener at preseason number one ranked Georgia, the offense started with the ball on 1st-and-10 situations from its own territory.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SCRIMMAGE: Jarrell Crawford broke off a long run covering nearly 20 yards. Antonio Henton and Crawford connected for a first down. Henton found Demarcus Watts on fourth down to move the chains. On 1st-and-goal the defense got a sack from Marc Thomas. The defense held and forced the offense off the field.
Georgia Southern’s offense drove down the field again to set up another 1st-and-goal but the defense held again.
Henton hit Steve Cundari on a long pass play then eventually on 3rd-and-goal they connected on a touchdown.
Lee Chapple found Marcus Russ for a 20-plus yard reception, however the defense would eventually keep the offense out of the endzone again.
On 1st-and-goal situations Adam Urbano and Samair Baker both recorded a rushing touchdown from the 10... Kyle Collins found Russ in the endzone for a 10-yard score.
Henton connected with Joe Haynie on a 5-yard TD reception.
On 3rd-and-goal from inside the five the defense held twice by making two impressive stops.
Henton and Russ connected on consecutive passes that covered more than 30 yards... Later Chapple again found Russ, who made an impressive catch but just came short of the goal line on a note-worthy second effort. On 4th-and-goal a bad snap helped lead to Charwel Brown recording a quarterback sack to end the scoring threat.
When asked about the depth chart, Hatcher said some positions are still playing out.
“I think so (playing out) at certain positions, but there are some too that are going to play out during the season. We have guys playing on the first and second teams which are very close, which could be good or bad depending on the level that they are playing at. The one thing that I am real positive about is our seniors understanding that in order to be successful they are going to have to rely on the freshmen to play right now,” admitted Hatcher. “Sometimes you look at freshmen a little differently because ?These guys really haven’t earned their stripes when I have been here five years (from a senior’s point of view)’. But they know because we had a scrimmage the other day and we had 11 true freshman playing defense, and eight redshirt or true freshman playing on the offensive side of the ball. However, it is fun coaching those guys. We have had to keep it real basic just so they could go out and show us some skills. If we had overcomplicated things they would have been out there playing slow. Slowly but surely we are getting a little bit closer to where we need to be.”
The Eagles open the 2008 campaign against preseason top-ranked Georgia on August 30th. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Athens.
POSITION BREAKDOWNS: Coach Hatcher gave his thoughts on how some positions have been playing out so far.
Offensive Line: “Right now you look at our offensive line and we have five guys who are really playing well together, and really there are six of them that have really been battling. William Maxwell will be our left tackle and Dio Herrera is playing really well at left guard. Dio came into camp in really the best shape that I have ever seen him, and really been a good leader. Trey Dunmon is really close to solidified (the center position). I say solidified but things could always change. At the right tackle position Cole Fountain, who we moved from guard, has been playing well. Right guard is Joe Behrman, a walk-on from out of a tryout, who has had a great camp. Jonathan Loving, who moved over from defense, has really pushed him and that is a big battle going on.”
Linebackers: “One position that has been solidified is our linebacker corps with Quentin Taylor, Terrione Benefield and E.J. Webb. They have really played well and we have some good young ones behind them.”
Defensive Backs: “Carson Hill, (Chris) Rogers, (Chris) Covington and (Darrel) Pasco have had a really good camp.”
Defensive Line: “I have been real pleased with the play of Damon Suggs and Dakota Walker. Both of those guys have played well. Probably the biggest surprise on defense is Brent Russell (the true freshman nose guard). He has had a really good camp. Larry Beard is right now backing up so we have some guys who have really stepped up.”
Quarterbacks: “Well right now, all three quarterbacks have been playing pretty well, and I really say this with all sincerity when I say it is going to be a tough decision. I could see all three of them getting in there, and being able to play some. As of today, I worked (Antonio) Henton and (Lee) Chapple more with the ones than I did with (Kyle) Collins. You know both of them have played well at times but made some poor decisions. The big thing with our quarterback is we have to have more consistent play, and also when we do have a shot of making a big play we have to convert. We missed a couple plays today, so that could have really turned the tide of the scrimmage.”
Running Backs: “They are a bunch of guys that you’ve never heard of. You’ve got Darell Norman and Jarrell Crawford, both of those guys are battling. In the other position you have the freshman Samair Baker and Adam Urbano while Terrence Hall is mixed in there as well.”
Wide Receivers: “Tim Camp has had a tremendous camp. We have limited Raja (Andrews) a little bit, just because we know what he can do. The biggest thing with him is what side we play him on. A couple of the freshmen have really looked good. Demarcus Watts is really starting to come along. He is a tremendous talent and maybe the most athletic receiver we’ve got, but he is a freshman that is worn out and doesn’t know what to do all of the time. Nick Bass has had a great camp, and the guy that has really just kind of been steady and doesn’t look like he has done a whole lot but makes big plays in scrimmages is Marcus Russ.”
With all the freshmen penciled into the 2-deep, Hatcher admitted there will likely not be many redshirts in the incoming freshman class.
“I can assure you, this there will not be a whole lot of redshirting going on. We are going to make that decision this weekend. But I think that out of the 25 new players that we brought in (including transfers and freshman), we are only looking at redshirting three of them. We are going to out there and let them learn under fire. A lot of these positions are close, and we’re going to see how they play out on the field, make them go out there and earn it. Hopefully early in the season we can solidify some of these positions as we move toward conference and make a run at it.”
SPECIAL GUESTS AFTER PRACTICE: To celebrate the end of fall camp, head coach Chris Hatcher took the team to Mill Creek park for a lunch served by former Eagle football players. After lunch the Eagles spent some time beating the heat at Splash in the Boro.
Chattanooga
Football Takes Break Friday Night; Holds Photo Day Saturday
The football team received a slight reprieve from practice and the heat Friday night.
Following a morning practice in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets, Head Coach Rodney Allison and the coaching staff took the entire squad to see the movie “The Dark Knight” Friday afternoon.
“Last year, we took the team bowling,” Allison said after the morning practice. “This year, we thought we would go to a movie. It will be a fun diversion from practice, and I know the guys will enjoy doing something different. I hope I can sit through the entire movie. I hear it is pretty long.”
Friday morning’s practice was shorter than usual. After beginning the session with emphasis on special teams, the Mocs worked for 12 periods.
The workout ended with the Circle of Death, where individual players were singled out to do the same number of up-downs as they had loafs in the previous day’s practice in the middle of a circle of their teammates.
Allison also announced Friday that junior college transfer Chris Marshall has enrolled at UTC and is able to join the team for practice. Marshall, a 6-1 receiver from Pasadena, Calif., was a February signee of the Mocs. He encountered some paperwork issues from Glendale Community College in California this summer and was not able to arrive on the UTC campus until Thursday.
Marshall made 21 receptions for 350 yards and scored four touchdowns at Glendale in 2007 and was a teammate of running back Shaun Kermah the last two years.
The Mocs will hold their annual Photo Day Saturday beginning at 8 a.m. at Finley Stadium. Each squad member will get individual photos taken, followed by position group shots and the team photo.
The team will conduct a controlled scrimmage at Finley beginning at about 9:30 a.m. The public is invited to attend, and admission is free.