Samford
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Samford football team practiced for about two hours in full pads Tuesday morning at Seibert Stadium.
The practice was the 12th of fall camp for the Bulldogs. The team went through its first two-a-day session on Monday. Senior tight end Zeke Walters said the team has continued to work hard throughout each practice.
“Things are going well, we’re working hard,” Walters said. “I’m proud of the team and the way they’ve responded to adversity. Two-A-Days is always tough, but I feel like this team is willing to work and willing to go that extra mile.”
Walters is one of eight starters returning on the Bulldogs’ offense. He said he feels several leaders have stepped up on that side of the ball.
“We have a lot of starters back,” Walters said. “Andy (Summerlin), being our quarterback, that’s our leader we look to, but I also feel like the guys around him are leaders as well. We have Fabian (Truss) and Kelsey (Pope), and it’s good to have those guys. They are experienced guys who know how to respond to adversity.”
Walters talked about some areas he wants to improve in before the team opens the season in a little over two weeks.
“There is always room for improvement, especially with my on-the-ball blocking,” Walters said. “I’ve gained a little weight and I feel like I’ve gotten better at that. I’m just working on technique, hand placement and just trying to get better every day in every little area.”
Western Carolina
CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Rain and thunderstorms in the morning gave way to hot and muggy conditions on Tuesday afternoon as the Western Carolina Catamount football team returned to the turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field for an 18-period practice in full pads that went the better part of two and a half hours.
WCU will hold its fourth two-a-day practice on Wednesday including a shells session in the morning with an emphasis on the kicking game before holding its second scrimmage of the preseason on Wednesday evening beginning around 5:00 pm.
Tuesday’s workout included a lot of unit drills with the skill players spending a lot of time in the 7-on-7 while the linemen worked through competition drills on the opposite end of the field. The squad also ran through several situational scrimmage sessions including the two-minute drill with the offense wanting to run out the clock while the defense needed a stop to get the ball back.
Although the team was in full pads, only a few of the drills were full-speed as the team was instructed to “thud-up” in looking ahead to scrimmage sessions both Wednesday and Saturday.
“I’m seeing a lot of good things out here on both sides of the ball,” said an upbeat WCU head coach Mark Speir to his players following practice.
Speir added that the one word he wanted his team to continue to focus on was “consistency.”
The Catamounts rotated mostly between two quarterbacks on the afternoon with sophomore Troy Mitchell taking most of the reps with the first string and redshirt sophomore Eddie Sullivan seeing snaps with the second team – again, by design through the coaching staff this preseason. Redshirt sophomore signal caller Jawan Simmons, who was sidelined by a leg injury a season ago, was again forced out of practice nursing a turf toe injury that had him in a walking boot.
WCU’s four different running backs caught passes during seven-on-seven drills with freshman wide receiver Terryon Robinson and senior Jamil James both hauling in scoring strikes against the defensive unit during 7-on-7 drills.
And speaking of the defense, Western Carolina’s secondary picked up a late addition on Monday as Clemson transfer Dante Stewart was cleared to begin practice for the Purple & Gold. A redshirt junior who matriculated from a walk-on with the Tigers’ football team to earn a scholarship, Stewart spent both the second practice on Monday evening and Tuesday afternoon’s session in just a helmet as a part of the NCAA acclimation process. He will go Wednesday in helmet and should pads (shells) and should be cleared for full pads by Thursday.
A native of Swansea, S.C., Stewart played in nine games over two seasons at Clemson as a reserve at cornerback.
Appalachian State
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University football held its 14th practice of the season on Tuesday, working out for a little over two hours on a relatively cool afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers wore full pads for Tuesday’s practice but after two workouts on Monday and another two-a-day on tap for Wednesday, there was no full tackling during Tuesday’s lone session. Contact was live at the line of scrimmage but Appalachian State used “thud” tackling, meaning that defenders wrapped up ball-carriers but did not take them to the ground.
Despite the absence of full tackling, Tuesday’s practice included plenty of spirited 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, the most entertaining of which came in the next-to-last period of the day, when the offense and defense squared off for seven red-zone series. Appalachian’s offense got the ball at the beginning of each series at the defense’s 12 yard line, needing a touchdown to “win” the series. However, the defense wound up prevailing in the period by keeping the offense out of the end zone for 4-of-7 series.
Things started well for the offense, as the first-team offensive line opened a huge hole for true freshman running back Marcus Cox, who scampered untouched for a 12-yard touchdown. The defense held on the next two series, thanks to a sack by defensive ends Ronald Blair and Deuce Robinson to end the first series and a tackle for loss by Stephen Burns to end the second.
The offense responded with back-to-back touchdown passes to take a 3-2 advantage. True freshman running back Terrence Upshaw took a short pass from Jamal Londry-Jackson and scored from 10 yards out and one play later, Kameron Bryant found redshirt freshman tight end Jacob McCann wide open over the middle for a 12-yard touchdown strike.
The defense stepped up when it needed to most, however, as it got stops on the final two series to win the period. A second-down sack by Burns proved to be the biggest play on the next-to-last possession while a tackle for loss by Tucker Bell squelched the offense’s scoring threat on the period’s decisive series.