| HBCU Football Camp Report - As of Aug. 17 |
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| Tue, Aug 17, 2010 > 12:07pm |
Pre-season camp is at full swing as the count down to the season opener is around the corner. One thing for a fact, it has been hot for everyone and the new NCAA rules are in place to help everyone from having any type of tragedy or lost of life. One major rule that long time fans might not be aware, is two-a-day practices are limited to five days during pre-season. The heat has been a problem for everyone, but the biggest surprise in HBCU
football was the report on Pre-season SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Grambling's Christian Anthony, who was hospitalized last week because of chest pains. I spoke with officials from the school today (Aug. 17) and Anthony remains hospitalized in good condition and we will keep you updated on his recovery. Usually when two-a-days are over, teams really focus on their opening day opponent.
Alabama A&M – Head coach Anthony Jones wasn’t surprise Saturday, each of his eight previous seasons, the Bulldogs defense jumped all over the offense on the first day in pads. That was the case again.
Tackle Frank Kearse was all over the place congratulating his mates. So was inside linebacker Afu Okosun. Defensive coordinator Brawnski Towns’ unit appeared to be in mid-season form. “We were flying to the ball,” said Okosun, a first team All SWAC pre-season pick. “We’ve got Frank and (end) Brian Christian up front. We’ve got guys at linebacker and in the secondary that know what they’re doing and that allows us to come out here on the first day and go full speed. We looked pretty good Saturday.”
Jones couldn’t disagree. “They got after us today and we didn’t respond the way I would have liked,” he said. “We’ve got a bunch of freshmen out there who haven’t seen college football up close and personal and they’re going to make mistakes, but I’m not discouraged by that. We’ve got to coach them through and not panic.”
The defense held the upper hand in all of the competitive drills, including Oklahoma, which pits two offensive players against two defensive players and a runner, inside run and 7-on-7.
“Saturday was a lot of fun,” he said. “It was good to get back in rhythm and get ready for the season. I saw a couple of things I liked and a couple of things I didn’t like. I think we had a pretty good effort. We made some mental mistakes because it was hot and some of the players don’t know their plays.
“Even though we have to rebuild our offense, I think we’ve got the pieces. We’ve got some older guys at wide receiver and running back and we’ve got some younger guys, too. I think we’ll be pretty good.”
Towns was impressed with a number of his players, but tackle Tim Tillman really caught his eye. A 6’1, 275-pounder out of Augusta, GA, Tillman could emerge as an important reserve with junior tackle Anthony Jackson’s eligibility in question.
“It appears that the light has come on, “Towns said. “he has picked up the tempo and he knows what we’re doing right now.” “Tim stayed here and had a good summer,” Jones said. “He got stronger and he’s in better shape. He showed a great desire to compete Saturday.”
Alabama State – The Hornets ran 61 plays in their first scrimmage of the pre-season with positive results on both sides of the ball.
The offense was able to score three touchdowns and finished one drive with a field goal in the 10-possession scrimmage.
Devin Dominguez led the Hornets’ offense completing six of eight passes for 84 yards and two scores. He completed his first three passes with the third going for an 18 yard score to Therrell Tyus. The junior signal-caller then led the Hornets’ offense on an 11-play 97-yard drive to end the scrimmage, with the final play being a 17 yard scoring toss to Charles Gandy on a third and 17 from the 19 yard line.
Demetric Price and Rashard Burkette also led the offense. Price completed four of 11 passes for 65 yards and led the offense on the first scoring drive of the scrimmage, which was capped off with a two-yard run from Ronald Belser.
Burkette led the offense to a field goal and completed three of his eight passes for 27 yards. He also rushed for 16 yards.
“All three of the quarterbacks did some good things in the scrimmage,” head coach Reggie Barlow said. “They were able to make some plays and move the ball down the field. But we also saw a lot of areas where they need to continue to improve.”
“The final drive we started on the three with the offense facing a third and 10. We were just looking to get a first down and the offense finished the scrimmage by driving down the field for the score,” Barlow added.
Freshman Quendarius McKibben led all rushers with 56 yards on seven carries, including a scrimmage-long 25 yard run, which helped set up the final score. In all, the Hornets offense added 116 yards rushing on 29 carries.
Tim Clark had 23 yards on seven carries and Belser finished with 18 yards on four carries to go along with his touchdown.
“I really like the way the running backs were explosive running the ball,” Barlow said. “They hit the line hard and made a lot of players miss tackles.”
Clark also had two receptions for 34 yards and T.C. McWilliams had two receptions for 20 yards. The longest reception of the game was the first play of the game which went to All-SWAC performer Nick Andrews for 25 yards.
The defense had their moments during the scrimmage as well as they held the offense out of the end zone on five of the scrimmage’s first six possessions.
All-SWAC defensive back Donovan Masline had the first big play of the game when he had an interception on the first possession of the game and returned it 15 yards.
The defense also collected four sacks (-36 yards), three quarterback hurries and broke up six passes. The Hornets defense also forced four punts and had two three-and-out possessions.
DreQuay Everett had five tackles including two sacks and a quarterback hurry. Masline collected three tackles to go along with his interception and Kynjee Cotton added three tackles and a quarterback hurry.
“The defense made a lot of plays, especially early in the scrimmage,” Barlow said. “They did some good things, but later in the scrimmage they did not make the plays they needed to make.”
The coaching staff was able to take a look at some special teams play as well. Anthony Speight averaged 36 yards on two punts while Andrew Lyons connected on all three extra points and added a 29-yard field goal on his only field goal attempt.
The Hornets were off on Sunday and was back on the practice field Monday at 9 a.m. and again at 7 p.m. It was their final two-a-day practice of the preseason.
Florida A&M - There were bright spots by the defense Monday, but coach Joe Taylor didn't see enough of them to come away from the Rattlers' first light-contact practice satisfied on a steamy afternoon when a few players were forced to the sidelines with cramps.
"I was expecting more," Taylor said. "I saw some good things in 7-on-7 flying around. I thought the defense did some good things. We've got a long way to go but they shouldn't let things (like the heat) affect them."
Coaches spent most of the afternoon concentrating on techniques and play executions. Taylor, who usually watched from a distance, was close up on each segment for most of the two hours on the field.
The team will begin two-a-days in full pads Tuesday morning, and then return later in the afternoon for their second session.
Cornerback Qier Hall snatched an interception during 7-on-7 and for the most part, the defense swarmed all over the offense.
Hall played down the pick, saying that he expected some miscues on the first day of practice in pads, helmets and shorts.
"Today is the first day so you know everybody has to tweak their techniques," Hall said. "There is always room for improvement. We found out where we are today and we're just going to get better."
QB Ukpai out: All of the balls that were thrown during Monday’s drills were from Eddie Battle, Austin Trainor or Jonathon Pillow, as designated starter Martin Ukpai was missing after spending the first week of practice recovering from an asthma attack…. Taylor said he should rejoin the team Wednesday.
Lawrence on hold: Receiver C.J. Lawrence, who transferred last week from the University of Florida, was held out of practice Monday. He's expected to participate in his first practice with the Rattlers later this week after completing clearinghouse matters…. Lawrence, who saw limited action with the Gators last season, can play immediately because he is coming from a BCS school to a FCS program.
Norfolk State - The Spartans conducted its first scrimmage in full pads last Saturday afternoon at Dick Price Stadium. The 80-play controlled scrimmage saw some highlights on both sides of the ball, but in the end, the Spartan defense stood tall and kept the offense out of the end zone.
“You normally see that early in preseason camp,” NSU head coach Pete Adrian said. “We’re still getting used to each other out there. But for us to be able to go 80 plays in our second day in full pads, we’re ahead of where we normally are.”
The defense had several standouts, led by junior free safety DeVonte Reynolds(Warsaw, Va.). Reynolds, who was splitting time between the first and second units with senior Dwight Fluker-Berry (Miami, Fla.), made three interceptions. Two came off of consecutive tipped passes, one of which he ran back roughly 50 yards for a score. Reynolds also delivered a bit hit on the final play of the scrimmage, when he delivered a body blow in the end zone to senior Nigel McCowan (Mechanicsville, Va.). The hit prevented the wideout from grabbing what appeared to be a touchdown pass from Jake Strickler (Middletown, Calif.).
Fluker-Berry also had an interception return for a score, running back a pick for about 80 yards in the second half of the session.
Among the big plays on offense was a 40-yard burst on a run around left end by senior Donovan Cotton (Tampa, Fla.). Sophomore Reggie Garrett(Chesapeake, Va.), who converted from quarterback to wideout in the spring, made a nice leaping catch of about 30 yards off a pass from Chris Walley(Tallahassee, Fla.).
The kickers also fared well Saturday. Junior Ryan Estep (Chesapeake, Va.) was 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, and junior college transfer Troy Muenzer(Long Beach, Calif.) was 3-for-4.
The scrimmage also marked the first half of the Spartans’ initial two-a-day session. After working on special teams on Saturday night, the Spartans were off Sunday, and returned for another two-a-day session Monday.
Prairie View - With three practices under their belts, the Panthers moved towards the next phase of camp as they donned shoulder pads for the first time last Wednesday evening.
The Panthers have had three solid practices as the players continue to fly around the field at full speed. In addition, each and every repetition has become important for the players as the team features a tremendous amount of depth on both sides of the ball.
“We constantly talk about practicing like a champion and last night was a good start as we put the shoulder pads on and kept the same tempo,” said head coach Henry Frazier III. “Once the season starts, we only wear full gear once or twice a week but we’re still going to maintain our level of intensity. Having on pads or not shouldn’t have an impact on how we practice.”
The 2010 edition of the Panther football team features a solid core of veteran players in addition to a variety of newcomers. Frazier said he’s pleased with the way the veterans and newcomers have handled themselves through the first few days of camp.
“I want to see maximum effort from the upperclassmen and that’s what they’re doing as we’re able to cut workouts short in the morning as a result,” stated Frazier. “As for the youngsters, I just want them to learn their assignments and get into their playbooks as that’s all they have to do since there are no classes now. We have some good athletes but once they learn the system, they can play fast as a lot of them are tipping at practice because they’re thinking so much.
“Specifically, (running back) Christian Johnson tipped a lot last year trying to figure things out as a freshman but is now flying because he knows where to go. The same thing applies to (quarterback) Andrew McGlory as he can now drop back and pass the ball where it needs to be thrown because he has been in the system for quite some time. It takes about two years to learn the system and it’s not going to change so you have to be play with confidence.“
This season marks the seventh training camp at Prairie View A&M for Frazier. When asked to compare his first camp in 2004 to now, Frazier mentioned administrative support as the major difference.
There’s no difference in how I approach the game but every training camp is new, every team is new and different. However, coming into training camp as a champion is something we’ve done a lot of research on and we have come to realize we’ve been preparing like champions all along. Also, we’ve received a lot of support from the administration as there are fewer distractions now in terms of problems with housing, equipment and personnel. Having a good support staff available makes all the difference in the world.”
The Panthers returned to practice last Friday before hitting the gridiron last Saturday for their first round of two-a-days.
S.C. State – The Bulldogs conducted its first preseason scrimmage last Saturday morning and the first team offense and defense earned praise from Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough. Senior quarterback Malcolm Long was especially effective, directing three scoring drives. Also the Bulldogs got strong performances from the running backs and the first team defense did not allow any points.
“We still have a lot of work left to do, and despite some peaks and valleys today, I thought things went pretty well,” Pough said following the scrimmage. “The first team guys on both sides of the ball were very effective most of the time.
“There were some highs and lows but we seem to have guys that understand what to do,” continued Pough. “It’s still real early and this was just our first scrimmage but it’s important that we develop some consistency.”
Pough said the staff took a look at a lot of players in hopes of developing a strong depth chart for the upcoming campaign, which kicks off Sept. 4 at Georgia Tech.
Long, the likely Bulldog starter for a third straight season, was sharp, finding his receivers often on three scoring drives, two of which were culminated by short runs by Citadel transfer Asheton Jordan and the other on a short run by senior tailback Chris Massey, who was also used as a receiver at times.
“Malcolm (Long) threw the ball well,” noted Pough. “Our running backs played good. We have some great talent there (RB) and we are finding ways to get them the football to take advantage of their skills. We got some good play from some of our receivers and one of them – freshman Tyler McDonald – was especially effective. I think he’s going to come in and help us as we lost our top three receivers from last year.”
The Bulldogs also spent some time on punting and placekicking. Junior placekicker Blake Erickson, who set a school single-season record with 14 field goals in 17 attempts last season, nailed kicks from 35 and 45 yards away. The punting appeared to go well also except for one miscue when the ball went through the punter’s hands.”
NOTES: The Bulldogs enjoy their first day away from the field last Sunday since the start of preseason workouts Aug. 5. The team and staff attended church service in the morning at Cornerstone Church on Chestnut.
Starting center Sam Timothy left the contest with a slight ankle injury but it did not appear to be serious, according to Pough.
All pre-season camps are in full swing and we will report on the ones that we are able to get good concrete information. According to our pre-season prediction poll on the HSRN.com home page, HBCU football followers and fans are in favor of the Panthers of Prairie View to finish 2010 as the top dog. As of Tuesday, Aug. 17, PV has 45.04% of the votes, followed by S.C. State 26.72%, Alabama A&M 9.16%, there will be a new team not listed 8.4%, Tuskegee 7.63, and Fayetteville St. 3.05%. The way Fayetteville St. and Tuskegee fans chew the fat on the message boards, I’m really surprise at their followers. The prediction poll will run until the season openers on Aug. 28. Don’t forget to leave a comment on what you think about the camp report and the upcoming season. Also, don’t forget to give your vote on the pre-season poll on the HSRN.com home page….
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