Appalachian State
ASU Football Fall Camp Report ? Mon., Aug. 18
BOONE, N.C. ? With just nine practice days remaining before the season opener at LSU, Appalachian State University football turned its full attention to preparing for the defending BCS champions on Monday.
Monday’s morning session, held in shells (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts) was the final true “camp” practice of the year in which the first- and second-team offense and defense practiced their base packages against each other.
For the second practice of the day, the Mountaineers’ first and second teams went up against scout teams, which simulate the offensive and defensive sets that Appalachian expects to see from LSU in 12 days.
In years past, the beginning of game-planning for the season’s first opponent has coincided with the first week of class, meaning that it occurred after the conclusion of two-a-days. However, this year, classes do not begin at ASU until four days prior to the season opener, which means that the Apps have the luxury of using a full week of camp - including two sets of two-a-days - to begin installing the strategy to be used against the Bayou Bengals.
With the end of traditional camp practices also comes the end of GoASU.com’s Fall Camp Reports. However, GoASU TV will continue its video reports previewing the season throughout the next week and, as always, GoASU.com will bring Black and Gold faithful all of the latest news surrounding the Mountaineers and the season opener in the Bayou.
A reminder that for your safety due to the ongoing construction this fall, all practices at Kidd Brewer Stadium in 2008 are closed to the general public and those who trespass will be removed from the premises. ASU athletics thanks you for your cooperation and support.
MOORE TO APPEAR ON SIRIUS RADIO MONDAY EVENING: Appalachian running back Devon Moore will be a guest on The Sports Rage this evening on Sirius Satellite Radio. The show airs on Sirius channel 98 from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. EDT.
Samford
SAMFORD FOOTBALL HOLDS FINAL TWO-A-DAY MONDAY
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.?The Samford football team held its final two-a-day workout Monday at Seibert Stadium. The Bulldogs practiced for about two hours in shells in the morning, and they practiced for a little over an hour in shells in the afternoon workout.
“We had two good practices,” Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. “They were a little shorter today. It was our 18th practice and our last two-a-day.”
Sullivan said the Bulldogs will have a scripted scrimmage Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
“We will go in shells tomorrow and Wednesday, and have a mock scrimmage Thursday night,” Sullivan said. “Then we will have a full pad day on Friday and that will be our last full pad day and then we will be ready to go.”
Sullivan added that after looking at the film from last Saturday’s scrimmage, he saw some improvement from his team.
“After reviewing the film, I thought it was as physical a scrimmage as we have had since we’ve been here,” Sullivan said. “Both sides got after each other, there were some plays made on both sides.
“I thought Chris Evans made some nice runs,” Sullivan said. “The quarterbacks did well, Dustin (Taliaferro) had a nice day and really had some composure. I thought Matthew Jordan kicked the ball well.”
The Bulldogs will practice again Tuesday morning at 8:20 a.m. in shells at Seibert Stadium.
Samford opens the 2008 season on Thursday, Aug. 28, when the Bulldogs play host to West Georgia at 7 p.m. at Seibert Stadium.
Wofford
Wofford Football Practice Report
SPARTANBURG, SC ? After a scrimmage on Saturday and a day off on Sunday, the Wofford football team returned to the practice field on Monday for two practices in shoulder pads and helmets.
The first practice began at 8:45 am and lasted approximately an hour and 40 minutes. In skelly, the defense was strong with two interceptions by Mychael Johnson and one each by Coleman Hornaday, Greg Gasparato and Trey Diller. The special teams segment focused on punt cover and kickoff coverage. Punters for the practice included Craig Novack, Landon Bennett and Andy Strickland.
The second session began at 6:15 pm and went almost two hours. Skelly was run with a two-man rush. Special teams worked on punt return and kickoff return. The final twenty minutes of practice the offense and defense worked separately in team drills.
“I think we are making progress,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We are better then we were after the first week. We saw some good things in the scrimmage from some young players and players who were able to make some big plays for us. I think we have a group that understands the importance of work and are willing to work. Coming out of the scrimmage we realize that if we execute, we can be really good. If we don’t do the little things, then we are not going to be really good. I think the biggest thing today that we tried to emphasize is that camp is quickly rolling down. There is a sense of urgency that has not been there when you initially started because it is too big of a stretch. We battled the first two weeks. We have grown and matured as a football team and I think we have a better understanding of the kids that are going to help us from the senior class to the freshman class.”
The list of players held out of at least one practice on the day due to injury has decreased after the weekend. The list includes Devin Reed, Jordan Ingman, Andrew Young, Hunter Hobson, Jeremy Marshall and Blake Beeler.
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. On Tuesday the team will practice at 3:30 pm. Wednesday will be the final day with two practices, at 8:45 am and 6:15 pm. The late practice will be a scrimmage with a focus on special teams.
The Terriers will open the 2008 season on Saturday, August 30 against Presbyterian at Gibbs Stadium. Tickets are available by calling the Wofford Ticket Office at 864-597-4090.
Elon
Phoenix Preseason Football Practice Update #19
ELON, N.C. ? The Phoenix landed on the Hunt and Tucker Fields in upper pads on a toasty Monday morning for the 19th session ? a two-hour-and-15-minute affair ? of the 2008 Elon preseason football practice schedule.
The session, which emphasized the passing game, featured three team periods ? one dealing with 3rd-and-medium-to-long situations (five to nine yards), one focusing on blitz scenarios and one concentrating on red zone situations ? and two pass skeletons. The special teams spent their time working on PAT/field goals, punt protection and punt returns.
“We had a good tempo out here today, particularly with the first group,” Phoenix coach Pete Lembo said. “It was a real back-and-forth type of practice with both sides of the ball making some plays and having some success. One of the things that continues to impress me this preseason is that we are generating a better pass rush with our four guys up front.”
Junior defensive lineman Eric Ludwig and sophomore defensive end Brandon Ward turned in strong showings, generating a solid pass rush. Lembo was also pleased to have sophomore defensive lineman David Hunt back in action after recovering from an ankle injury suffered early during the preseason.
“It’s great to have David back in the lineup today on a fulltime basis,” Lembo said. “He hurt his ankle early in camp and we wanted to make sure that we got that right. When he’s on the field, he gives us an extra burst of intensity. David has a very good work ethic and just plays very hard. That always seems to be contagious to the rest of the defense when he’s in the game.”
On the offensive side of the ball, sophomore quarterback Scott Riddle continued to throw the football well while sophomore wide receivers Sean Jeffcoat and Lance Camp continued to produce big plays. Freshman wide receiver Aaron Mellette has been demonstrating a lot of raw ability as he works hard to become a more detailed player.
“Overall, we are probably a bit ahead of where we were last year at this time in a number of areas,” Lembo said. “However, in some other facets, we still have a long way to go. We really need to take advantage of these next several practices to improve our consistency before we get into game week for Richmond.”
Elon will return to the Hunt and Tucker Fields at 7:30 p.m. Monday for the 20th 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 #20
ELON, N.C. ? Sporting uppers, the Elon Phoenix returned to the Hunt and Tucker Fields for two hours for the 20th session of the 2008 preseason practice schedule.
“Much like this morning I thought we had a good tempo out here tonight,” head coach Pete Lembo said. “There was a lot of energy and enthusiasm and overall there was a pretty intense atmosphere. It was a back-and-forth practice with guys on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball making plays. As a coach, that is what you hope for at this point in camp. You don’t want to see one side of the ball dominate when you are two-thirds of the way through camp.”
Monday night’s session, like the early session, was a pass-oriented practice that featured two team periods. The first of the team periods focused on third down situations, with the second emphasizing play-action pass scenarios. The team also participated in two pass skeletons, while the special teams focused their attention on kick-off returns, punts, and PAT field goals.
Senior wide receivers Bo Williamson and Charles Ball made plays off the reliable arm of sophomore quarterback Scott Riddle, who also enjoyed another solid outing.
Senior Tim Applegate and redshirt freshman A.J. Harris continued to show consistency at catch the ball well out of the backfield.
“I have been pleased with this preseason with the dependability of our backs and how well they are catching the ball out of the backfield. Our offense is slowly getting better and improving their timing.”
The Phoenix will return to the Hunt and Tucker Fields at 2:15 p.m. Wednesday afternoon for the 21st session of the 2008 Elon preseason football practice schedule. All sessions are open to the public and fans are encouraged to attend.
Western Carolina
Catamount Football Practice Update for Monday, Aug. 18
WCU to host 'Meet the Cats' on Thursday night in Cullowhee
Cullowhee, N.C. - On the first day of classes Monday, the Western Carolina Catamount football team took the day off from the practice field, spending the morning in meetings and with the newcomers taking their head shots in the team room.
Looking back to Saturday, Western had much-needed rain play spoiler in its afternoon scrimmage plays. After enduring nearly a three-hour rain delay, the Catamounts ended up hitting the turf at 7:00 pm for a 90-play scrimmage.
"We had every intention of having a scrimmage in the middle of the afternoon, putting our players in a position where they would be playing in a little heat. But the rain put things on hold Saturday afternoon," said first-year head coach Dennis Wagner. "I thought our defense responded well and pretty much dominated the offense. They flew around and ran to the ball well."
He added, "Offensively, we had too many bad exchanges with the snap, and did not run the ball as well as we needed. We also dropped eight or so passes that dropped our completion percentage from the 60's down into the 40-percent range. Overall, we just need to be much more efficient as an offense."
Wagner indicated that every player was able to get into the scrimmage situations on Saturday, with no one playing more than 40 of the 90 plays, with the minimum number ranging around 25 snaps for each player.
On Monday, the WCU coaching staff met to compile their first two-deep chart of the season, which will be released on Tuesday.
As preseason practice winds down the team turns its focus outward, Wagner was excited about opening camp with a full roster and concluding preseason with the same number.
"We opened camp with 90 and finished camp with 90, so obviously the attitudes are right," said Wagner. "We added 12 players with the start of classes, so we have 102 on roster. After Thursday, we will break it down as to who we feel will play in games for us and who will service our team on the scout squads."
The Catamounts will resume their 8:00 am practice sessions - which they will employ all season long - on Tuesday in advance of Thursday night's "Meet the Cats" scrimmage. The team will endure an hour and a half scripted practice including scrimmage sessions without live tackling during Thursday's event which marks the conclusion of preseason practice and where the focus will shift for the Catamounts to Shorter College.
WWCU-FM, Power 90dot5 in Cullowhee - the Flagship Station of the Catamount Sports Network - will broadcast its season premiere of "In the Litterbox" live from the porch of the Jordan Phillips Field House. The fourth season of the interactive sports talk and interview show will air from 4:30 pm until 5:30 pm ahead of the scrimmage and can be heard live online at www.WWCUFM.com.
Following the practice, members of the Catamount football team and WCU Cheerleading so quads will be on-hand to sign autographs and mingle with fans on the field.
"It is very important for our team to interact with our students, faculty, staff and our community (at `Meet the Cats,') and for our student body to see and meet our players. We tried to establish ourselves in the spring with community service and outreach, and that is going to carry over, and this is a great opportunity for us to interact," concluded Wagner.
Western Carolina opens the 2008 season in less than two weeks on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7:00 pm as the Catamounts host Shorter College at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field.