Fall Practice Report Aug. 12

STATESBORO, Ga. - Rain showers fell during the first half of Georgia Southern’s Tuesday afternoon (Aug. 12) football practice, the second of three scheduled that day. The Eagles officially surpassed the halfway point of preseason practice.

With kickoff at preseason top-ranked Georgia just 18 days away, the Eagles went through practices 14, 15 and 16 of the 29 scheduled during the preseason. During the first two practices Tuesday the Eagles wore full pads then came out at night in shells.

Not only did it rain during the afternoon, but the evening session had overcast conditions and was much cooler than practices last week. Head coach Chris Hatcher noted that the team is fighting through the midway point.

“It has gone pretty good, today has been cool out here. We have hit the grind of camp a little bit. I have been real pleased with some of our young players, Adam Urbano especially. He is going to play a lot and he has got to get better each and every day. Some of the freshmen are starting to fall by the wayside. A big concern for us is going to be depth this season,” said Hatcher. “I counted yesterday there could possibly be 14 players (freshmen) in our two-deep on offense. We are going to be inexperienced. We’re just going to have to live with those growing pains and keep things simple, let these guys have an opportunity to go out and be successful every Saturday. Our defense has got the upper hand right now and that is a good thing I guess. For our team offensively we are going to have to pick up our pace a little bit and hopefully we will start that tonight.”

Hatcher also said that the team will take full advantage of the remaining practices.

“We are no where we need to be to play a game right now. We are still evaluating some guys. We have a good idea who is going to be playing on Saturday, but we just haven’t found that right combination.”

Morning highlights included: Tim Camp made a diving catch and was able to hang onto the ball catching it with his knees... Brandon Echols came up with an interception... Lee Chapple and Garryon Taylor connected on a touchdown... Samair Baker took a handoff and broke loose into the secondary.

In the afternoon: Dylan Douglas intercepted a pass... Chapple threw a touchdown pass over the middle to Marcus Russ and also found Joe Haynie in 1-on-1 coverage for a score... Derek Heyden intercepted another pass during fall camp... Darrel Pasco broke up what would have been a touchdown pass in the endzone... Nick Bass hauled in a touchdown pass.

The Eagles return to practice on Wednesday afternoon (Aug. 13) at 1:30 p.m.

FREEDOM MAKES AN APPEARANCE: Georgia Southern’s mascot made an appearance at football practice Tuesday morning. Steve Hein, Director of the Center for Wildlife Education, brought out Freedom the Eagle.

“We just want to continue the exposure built upon the last several years. Like the football players, Freedom needs to get back into the swing of things,” said Hein. “He sees the action at the football field and we want to make it a positive experience. He is learning that training session is feeding session. Freedom loves Georgia Southern football, it is where he gets to eat a full meal deal.”

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 Tuesday, 12 August 2008 00:21