The team went through positional drills during the first half of practice. They scrimmaged during the final hour. Head coach Chris Hatcher liked the intensity he saw.

“We had good intensity today, I think at times both groups looked pretty sharp. Other times we saw a lot of things we need to work on. It was our first day out here (in pads). The guys were glad to get out there, do some tackling and get some live looks,” said Hatcher. “One glaring thing is we need to tackle better, we haven't worked on that much since this is the first day we can go to the ground. Overall I've been pleased with the first week of practice.

“They like to go out there and play the game. For three days we've been working a lot of drills, a lot of individual and group work. To be able to put it all together and come out here and play the game we like to play is always rewarding,” stated Hatcher. “We were playing at a real high tempo. We got a bunch of young guys out there. We kept it real simple so there wouldn't be a lot of confusion. We can let them go out there and play and get a good evaluation of their skills.”

The second year head coach said everyone was looking forward to the upcoming week off.

“I know the players are looking forward to Spring Break, so am I. It'll be some much needed rest. We've had a very difficult off-season. They get some time off to relax and refresh themselves,” said Hatcher. “When we come back we have three weeks of ball left. Then we have a couple of weeks of weightlifting before finals. After that we'll take a couple of weeks off then get into off-season training for the season.”

SCRIMMAGE HIGHLIGHTS: Sophomores Kyle Collins and Billy Lowe and redshirt-freshman Lee Chapple all threw at least two touchdown passes and completed better than 70 percent of their passes... Michael McIntosh made an impressive diving catch on a pass by Chapple for a touchdown. Earlier in the scrimmage the senior wide receiver broke loose on a long pass completion... Terence Hall made a 20-plus yard run and scored a touchdown on a 4th-and-goal situation... Darell Norman broke off a long run of more than 20 yards... Ri'Chard Davis caught a TD pass and ran for another... Chris Ashkouti, Lionel McGriff and Adam Rooks all caught a touchdown pass... Garryon Taylor caught a 20-plus yard pass... Craig Norman rushed for a touchdown... Ricky Ponton scored a rushing touchdown... the defense broke up three passes, made four sacks and recorded more than 10 tackles for a loss... the offense took over on 1st-and-10 from various yard lines, including 1st-and-goal.

BLUE-WHITE GAME TO BE SPONSORED: This year's annual Blue-White game will be presented by the Georgia Neighborhood Ford Dealers. The game is scheduled for Saturday, April 12th at Paulson Stadium. Play-by-play voice Chris Blair and color analyst Terry Harvin will broadcast the game on Eagle 102.9 FM and via the internet at www.GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com. The radio show will begin 30 minutes before the 1 p.m. kickoff.

MOST EXPERIENCED OFFENSIVE GROUP: Georgia Southern lost several starters on offense from last year. Entering spring drills, the wide receivers boast of the most returning starters and seven returning letterwinners.

Seniors Raja Andrews, Michael McIntosh, Tim Camp and Joe Haynie saw extensive action last year.

Andrews caught a team-high 38 passes, one shy of the single-season record, for 388 yards and three touchdowns. McIntosh has the third-longest pass reception in Georgia Southern history, an 81-yard TD reception against West Georgia last year. Haynie made 13 catches while Camp had 10. They along with junior Chris Ashkouti and sophomores Chris Teal and Steve Cundari could see a lot more passes thrown their way if coach Hatcher airs it out more this year.

According to Hatcher...

“It is the deepest position we have. We moved Raja (Andrews) to our split end position and Michael McIntosh moved to the flanker, they basically switched spots. Chris Ashkouti has had a good off-season. We moved Tim Camp to our tight end position. He and Steve Cundari are battling there. Joe Haynie is competing against Raja; Ashkouti and McIntosh are battling... I feel like we have got some really good guys no one has heard of that are behind those guys. There are one or two that could make a move, but a lot of that depends on how they do this spring.”

SPRING PRACTICE SCHEDULE

(dates/times subject to change... all times at 8 a.m. unless otherwise noted)

Tuesday, March 25 (shells)

Thursday, March 27 (full)

Friday, March 28 (full, 2:30 p.m.)

Monday, March 31 (shells)

Tuesday, April 1 (full)

Thursday, April 3 (shells)

Friday, April 4 (full)

Tuesday, April 8 (full)

Thursday, April 10 (full)

Friday, April 11 (shorts)

Saturday, April 12: Blue-White game presented by the Georgia Neighborhood Ford Dealers (1 p.m.)