Samford Football Opens 2009 Fall Practice
The Bulldogs worked out for about two hours in shorts and helmets
Practice Photo Gallery
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team opened practice for the 2009 season with a two-hour workout in shorts and helmets Thursday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said he liked that the team came back in good shape for the start of the fall season.
"I thought, first, they came back in good condition," Sullivan said. "I thought we had a good practice and we had a lot of retention."
Sullivan said he saw some bright spots on offense, defense and in the kicking game in Thursday's first practice.
"I thought (starting quarterback) Dustin (Taliaferro) threw the ball well, as did (backup quarterback) Connor (Lowery)," Sullivan said. "(Receiver) Jonathan Lowery caught the ball well.
"The defense looked like they were flying around, though it's kind of hard on them when we are in shorts," Sullivan said. "I thought we got something out of the kicking game. It looked like (place-kicker) Cameron Yaw did a nice job."
Sullivan added that he liked what he saw from the newcomers on the team in their first Samford practice.
"You can see they all have talent," Sullivan said. "We'll see how it goes when the pads go on, but we are excited about having every one of them."
Sullivan said the Bulldogs need to figure out who will step up to take on leadership roles on this year's team.
"We miss some of our leadership from last year," Sullivan said. "We had great leadership, and we miss those guys. Each team takes on a different personality. So, over the next few weeks, we will see who steps up."
The Bulldogs will practice again Friday at 3:30 p.m. in shorts and helmets. The team will practice in shells Saturday at 9:30 a.m., and the Bulldogs' first day in full pads will be Monday at 9 a.m.
Samford opens the 2009 season on Saturday, Aug. 5, when the Bulldogs travel to Orlando, Fla., to take on the UCF Knights. The game is scheduled for a 6:30 p.m. (CT) start from Bright House Networks Stadium.
Mountaineer Football Notebook: Apps Report for 2009
BOONE, N.C. ? Ninety student-athletes, the maximum allowed per NCAA regulations, reported for the start of Appalachian State University football’s 2009 fall camp on Thursday.
The 90 players were fitted for equipment on Thursday afternoon and will have a team meeting in the evening. On Friday, the Mountaineers will hold the first of 29 practices leading up to the Sept. 5 season opener at East Carolina.
Practices are closed to the public, but GoASU.com will bring fans news and notes from the practice field with video and written reports throughout fall camp.
MEDIA DAY BROADCAST SET FOR SATURDAY A.M.: GoASU TV will bring Mountaineer fans exclusive coverage of Saturday’s Media Day activities at Kidd Brewer Stadium with a special online video broadcast live from Kidd Brewer Stadium, beginning at 10 a.m.
The two-hour video stream will include live interviews with ASU players, coaches and special guests, as well as pre-produced features that preview the 2009 Mountaineers and analysis from the Appalachian ISP Sports Network football crew of David Jackson, Steve Brown, Randy Jackson and Tim Sparks.
The video stream is available exclusively to GoASU TV premium subscribers. For more information, visit GoASU.com.
HOME OPENER TO BE TELEVISED ON WMYA: Appalachian’s Sept. 12 home opener versus fellow NCAA Division I FCS powerhouse McNeese State will be televised live on Asheville’s WMYA-TV.
WMYA-TV (Ch. 40) can be viewed in nearly 900,000 households across western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.
Kickoff for the ASU-McNeese showdown remains at 3:30 p.m.
FORMER MOUNTAINEERS BACK AS ACADEMIC ADVISORS: Former Mountaineer defensive standouts Pierre Banks and Joe Suiter have returned to ASU as staff members in the office of academic services for student-athletes.
Banks has been hired as an assistant academic coordinator. In that role, he will advise student-athletes in ASU’s field hockey, cross country, track and field and softball programs.
Banks set an NCAA all-divisions record by playing in 62 games at linebacker for the Apps from 2004-08 and ranks sixth in Appalachian’s all-time annals with 373 career tackles. In the classroom, he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just five years and was an academic all-conference and all-region honoree and a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation’s 2008 Draddy Award, presented to the nation’s premier scholar-athlete.
Suiter is back to serve as a graduate assistant under assistant academic coordinator Kim Sherrill while he pursues a master’s degree from ASU. Suiter appeared in 46 games at defensive tackle for the Mountaineers from 2002-05 and made 26 career starts, including all 15 games as a senior while helping lead Appalachian to its first-ever national championship. He was tabbed by ASU’s coaching staff as the team’s MVP following the 2005 campaign.
Georgia Southern Fall Camp Practice #2
Second of the three split squad practices took place Thursday.
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Football returned to the practice fields for day two of fall camp on Thursday. On Friday the Eagles will wear shells for the first time and then hit the field Sunday afternoon for the first time in full pads.
A total of 16 seniors are in fall camp, and Saturday will mark the first time they will take the field with the 37 freshmen currently practicing. As head coach Chris Hatcher prepares for his third season in charge, he noted the excitement of all the players and their leadership on the field.
"We are light years ahead of where we were (after day one of practice this year compared to the past couple of years), maybe not as much as far as knowing what to do on the field, but our attitude is tremendous. Our guys believe in the coaches and what we are trying to get accomplished, everybody is on the same page. Everybody knows exactly what we are going to do each and every day, offensively, defensively, and special teams, there are no questions," said Hatcher. "We have some great leaders in Lee Chapple, Dion Dubose and Derek Heyden - those guys have emerged as great leaders - and then Ronnie Wiggins, Harland Bower, Darrell Pasco, and three senior O-linemen Cole Fountain, Jonathan Loving and Trey Dunmon. People know who the leaders are, they know what we are going to do, it's so nice to have everyone on the same page for a change."
During the afternoon 7-on-7 session, the defense came up with a big play when Derek Heyden intercepted a pass, but the offense responded when Russell DeMasi connected with Jonathan Bryant over the middle for a touchdown.
Kickoff for the season-opener against Albany (N.Y.) on Saturday, September 5th is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Paulson Stadium. For ticket information call 800-GSU-WINS.
HEAT INDEX: Midway through the afternoon practice the heat index hit 106 degrees, the second straight day in triple digits.
THREE SENIORS LEAD OFFENSIVE LINE: Georgia Southern's offensive line boasts of the most returning senior starters, three veterans in right tackle Cole Fountain, right guard Jonathan Loving and center Trey Dunmon. Those three helped the offense rank 20th nationally last year in passing offense (247 ypg) and scoring offense (31.8 ppg) while finishing the year 37th in total offense (383.6 ypg). Fountain was selected as a Second Team Preseason All-Southern pick. Sophomores William Maxwell and Josh Petkovich split time at tackle in 2008 while senior Josh Barker is looking to challenge for playing time at guard. The three senior starters are part of an offensive line that currently has eight freshmen and four sophomores in camp.
"Every year the offensive line is probably the most important on the offensive side of the ball, that and the quarterback, and defensively the defensive line is where it all starts," said coach Hatcher. "We put a lot of emphasis on it. That is one area we will have senior leadership with Cole Fountain who has been here a long time, Jonathan Loving who played on both sides of the ball and Trey Dunmon who had a great season last year. So we have some guys that know how to make it happen. Right now (sophomore guard) Jared Flowers and (redshirt-freshman tackle) Daniel Few are the other two starters at this time we really feel good about their progress."
FALL CAMP PRACTICE TIMES
Friday, August 7: 3A 8:10-10 a.m.; 3B 1:10-3 p.m.
Saturday, August 8: 9:15-11:45 a.m.
Sunday, August 9: 2:15-4:45 p.m.
Monday, August 10: 8-10 a.m.; 2:15-4:15 p.m.; 7:15-8:15 p.m.
Tuesday, August 11: 1:30-4 p.m.
Wednesday, August 12: 8-10 a.m.; 2:15-4:15 p.m.; 7:15-8:15 p.m.
Thursday, August 13: 1:30-4 p.m.
Friday, August 14: 8-10 a.m.; 2:15-4:15 p.m.; 7:15-8:15 p.m.
Saturday, August 15: 1:30-4 p.m.
Sunday, August 16: Off
Monday, August 17: Off (First day of classes)
All sessions are tentatively scheduled to take place at the practice field complex and Herring Pavilion. Only media members are allowed to take pictures during any practice session. Day/time subject to change
Chattanooga Football Fall Practice - Day 6
Day six of fall camp for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team was the second day in full pads for the Mocs. It was a beautiful morning with a lot of spirited competition.
Friday morning's (8/7) practice time has been changed to 7:45 a.m., on Scrappy Moore Field. There is live play scheduled for the drills tomorrow, as hitting has been limited to this point in camp. Today's practice had one live play which resulted in a great open-field tackle by junior cornerback Buster Skrine.
Be sure to check out video of an interview with offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield which is available at the top of the page, along with a photo album from today's action.
The Mocs kick-off the 2009 season with their home opener against Glenville State on Thursday, Sept. 3, at 7 p.m. (E.D.T.) at Finley Stadium. Season tickets begin at $22 for youth, alumni, faculty and staff and can be purchased at the UTC Ticket Office - (423) 266-MOCS (6627) - or online at GoMocs.com by clicking here.
With some student-athletes taking final exams and finishing summer classes, Chattanooga will have early sessions throughout the week. Monday's practice begins at 7 a.m. (E.D.T.) on Scrappy Moore Field. For a full practice schedule, visit the football page on GoMocs.com or click here.