Eagles Prepare to Wrap Up Fall Camp

STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern worked through its final three-a-day practice of fall camp on Thursday (Aug. 14). Friday morning’s practice from 10 a.m.-12 noon marks the official end of the 2008 edition.

Head coach Chris Hatcher will give his team the weekend off then Monday as well for the first day of classes. Like the previous three-a-days, the Eagles worked out for two hours in the morning and afternoon, then another hour in the evening.

“I know the players are excited and as a coach you are a little tired and monotony has kind of set in somewhat and fatigued. The good thing about it for the coaches is that you get to worry about football for two weeks. You don't have to worry about the administrative stuff,” said Hatcher. “There is a little sadness as another camp comes to an end, then again with the end of camp it means that the season opener is drawing near.”

Hatcher noted the team’s improved play, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

“I think we are getting better defensively. We are really flying around and it’s good to see guys playing with a lot of emotion over there. Offensively all the young players are coming along and it didn't really strike until today how young we are, which is ok. There is nothing wrong with being young,” said Hatcher. “We are doing our bandit drills at the end of practice and defensively we had 11 true freshmen out there going against the ‘1s’ and they were holding their own, and our offensive has been playing really good of late. The future looks good. The future is now. Our guys are excited and they believe. We just have to do a good job as a staff of not mentally or physically wearing these guys down so that they can be fresh each and every Saturday.”

During the morning session for the preseason 17th-ranked Eagles: Oliver Davis picked off a pass... Lee Chapple connected with Demarcus Watts for a long gain... Chapple found Tim Camp for another long pass reception over the middle... Watts and Kyle Collins connected on two passes, including one Watts caught before the ball hit the ground and scored a touchdown.

In the afternoon: Chapple hit Adam Urbano for a long gain down the sidelines... J.B. Shippy recorded an interception... Quentin Taylor and Dakota Walker broke through the offensive line for an impressive quarterback sack... Antonio Henton and Samair Baker connected on a short touchdown pass... Garryon Taylor made an impressive catch on a pass by Collins for a touchdown.

The Eagles open the 2008 campaign against preseason top-ranked Georgia on August 30th. Kickoff is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. in Athens.

ROSTER CHANGES: Jermaine Murphy and David Morris left the team due to personal reasons. Redshirt-freshman kicker Adrian Mora joined camp as did Troy transfer Lennie Richardson. Mora did not play last year after recovering from an injury while Richardson, an Ashburn native (Tucker County HS), redshirted last year with the Trojans and will have four years of eligibility remaining.

SEASON TICKETS ON SALE: Season tickets for the six Georgia Southern football games at Paulson Stadium are currently on sale. To purchase the packages call the ticket office at 800-GSU-WINS.

STUDENT TICKETS FOR GEORGIA GAME ON SALE FRIDAY, AUG. 22: Georgia Southern student tickets for the August 30th Georgia Southern-Georgia football game will go on sale Friday, August 22nd at 4 p.m. Full-time Georgia Southern students will have the opportunity to purchase two tickets at $45 apiece at the ticket booth at Gate 4 of Paulson Stadium on Friday, August 22nd beginning at 4 p.m. Ticket purchasers will not be allowed to camp out and can line up no earlier than 2 p.m. Students must present a GSU student ID which will be scanned to verify current enrollment status. Tickets can be purchased with cash or Visa/Mastercard only.

Category: Football

Published on Thursday, 14 August 2008 00:12