Learning Process Continues During First Football Scrimmage
4/3/2010 11:03:00 PM | Football
STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern football team scrimmaged for just under two hours, for a little more than 100 plays, on Saturday, April 3rd, at Paulson Stadium. Coach Jeff Monken and the Eagle coaching staff put the number-one, two and three offenses and defenses against each other, and then worked with some different combinations on both offense and defense.
"We'll get better," said first-year Eagles Coach Jeff Monken. "There are some good things and we'll see more on tape. There weren't enough first downs, it's not like we were moving the ball and you'd be in the position to punt and get some field position. We just kept (going) three and out, three and out, three and out."
Monken called the plays for offense during the first scrimmage, practice number eight of the spring. Georgia Southern will have six practices remaining, five in full pads, before the final practice, the Blue-White Spring Game, presented by Franklin Toyota, on April 17th at 1 p.m. at Paulson Stadium. The Eagles are learning and adjusting to new systems on both sides of the ball, with the installation of the option offense and 4-3 defense. Monken addressed the learning curve during the 15 allowed practices during spring ball.
"We have to be realistic and understand this is the eighth practice," Monken noted. "We have a brand new system on both sides of the ball and we have a lot of guys, certainly offensively, who haven't played much -- we have a few in there. If you go down the roster and look at the guys who trotted out there with the first offense, not a lot of them played a bunch last year. So, they don't have the game experience or the confidence from having been in games, and they are learning a new system."
During the first half of the spring, the coaching staff has emphasized fundamentals while putting in the plays and calls incrementally. While the focus has been on the effort and toughness of the Eagles, the instruction of the finer points of both the offense and defense will continue into fall camp.
"We still have a lot to put in -- we really just have the basics in - and we're not doing very well with those on either side of the ball," Monken said. "We need to be a lot better with those before we can move on, but we need to press forward and continue to install what we need to put in before the spring is done so we are ready to go for the fall practices."
Coaches were on the field, not on the sideline, but on the field, during today's scrimmage, making adjustments and immediate corrections during the action.
"There are good individual plays, I don't know if we can say we played good defense today or if we say we played good offense today," Monken said. "We had some guys in spots who played good. I am certain we will find some guys on the film who played good, who had good scrimmages. We have to get as many of those guys out there to have good scrimmages and then we'll say we played good defense or good offense."
Even though Monken was calling offensive plays, he was well aware of the overall play and effort of the team.
"We have a long way to go, a lot of missed tackles, a lot of missed assignments, a lot of missed blocks, but I thought there was some times where we competed, I don't think we are playing hard enough or fast enough all the time and that's disappointing. We have to get them playing faster and playing harder and playing to the whistle.
"I anticipated we'd have some snags, and some issues with effort, and missed assignments, nonetheless, it is frustrating. You don't want to have those things...so we have to keep pushing and get better. It's not going to turn and be perfect overnight. It's a work in progress and that's why they give us 15 practices now and 29 in the fall so that we have 44 practices to be ready and prepared. I hope we will be. I think we'll have them ready."
While learning Xs and Os is the critical mission, Monken also wants to make sure the team understands the privilege of representing Georgia Southern, wearing the blue and white uniform and playing at "Our House."
"We talked before we came over here, just before we loaded the buses, about what it means to play at Paulson Stadium -- the record here, the playoff record, the home win streak, and all of those things that go along with playing at Paulson Stadium, and what it means to play in the blue and white," Monken said. "I hope it means something to them when they come over here. When we look at the film, we're going to grade effort and if they don't grade out effort-wise, that's something we point to (and say) 'hey, I thought we talked about playing with pride over here' and just getting them an understanding of the speed that we want them to play with. We're not there yet either. Just like everything else, we are still learning."
For Monken, it was his first time coaching at Paulson Stadium and Glenn Bryant Field since December 15, 2001. At Georgia Southern from 1997-2001, he was an assistant coach on the staff that helped fashion the 39-game home winning streak that still stands as the longest in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision.
"This is a special place," Monken said. "For everybody who has played here, coached here, sat in the stands here, this place is different, and it should be. The history and tradition of this program, it should be a place where people come in here and they fear it. It shouldn't be easy to play here. Our fans should make it tough on them. The guys in the blue and white ought to make it really tough on the teams that come in here. I hope our guys will have that kind of pride playing here."
LITTLE EAGLES FOOTBALL CAMP
Prior to the Georgia Southern Eagle players taking the field for spring game, the "Little Eagles" will have their chance to learn what it takes to wear the blue and white. Children ages 4-12 will work with Eagle players and coaches from 11 a.m. until noon at Paulson Stadium on Saturday, April 17th. A series of "combine drills" will be set up on the field and the "Little Eagles" can also learn how to run and throw the football, punt, and make a field goal. Admission is free, but all parents must register their children at Bishop Field House beginning at 10:30 a.m. For more information, call (912) 478-5377.
BLUE-WHITE SPRING GAME WEEKEND
Eagle fans will have plenty of events to look forward to during the weekend of April 16-18th. Highlighted by the Blue-White Spring Game presented by Franklin Toyota on Saturday, April 17th at 1 p.m. at Paulson Stadium, the weekend begins with the Baseball Eagles playing host to Samford at 7 p.m. Friday, April 16th at J.I. Clements Stadium. Former Eagle baseball player Russell Hendricks (1986-89) will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the series opener.
Children in the 4-12 age group are invited to participate in the "Little Eagles" Football Camp from 11 a.m.-noon Saturday morning prior to the spring game with registration beginning at 10:30 a.m. at Bishop Field House. Senior Day for the Eagle Men's Tennis team begins at noon on April 17th at the Hanner Fieldhouse tennis courts as Georgia Southern takes on Chattanooga.
Following the Blue-White Spring Game presented by Franklin Toyota, the Clements Crazies Tailgate begins Saturday evening's events from 4:30-6 p.m. with a grilled chicken dinner complete with roasted potatoes, green beans and iced tea. Fans with a ticket to Saturday's baseball game or a valid Georgia Southern ID card are admitted free to the Clements Crazies Tailgate, sponsored by the Student Eagle Club.
Eagle Head Football Coach Jeff Monken and the football coaching staff will be introduced before the start of Saturday's 6 p.m. baseball game with quarterbacks coach Mitch Ware, father of Georgia Southern infielder Jake, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. The Samford-GSU baseball series ends with Sunday's game at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday night, the third annual Eagle Football Alumni Association (EFAA) Reverse Raffle will be held at Bishop Field House. The $100 ticket price includes live entertainment, food and beverages for the ticket purchaser and a guest, as well as a chance to win $10,000. A limited number of tickets are available through the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation and EFAA by calling (912) 478-5520 or e-mailing Lucas Stuckey at lstuckey@georgiasouthern.edu.
Friday, April 16
Eagle Baseball vs. Samford, 7 p.m.
J.I. Clements Stadium
Ceremonial first pitch: Former Eagle baseball player Russell Hendricks (1986-89)
For tickets, call (912) GSU-WINS (478-9467)
Saturday, April 17
Little Eagles Football Camp, 11 a.m.-noon
Paulson Stadium
Registration: 10:30 a.m., Bishop Field House
Men's Tennis Senior Day, Noon
Hanner Tennis Courts
Blue-White Spring Game presented by Franklin Toyota, 1 p.m.
Paulson Stadium
No admission charge
Clements Crazies Tailgate, 4:30-6 p.m.
Parking lot near J.I. Clements Stadium
Ticket to Saturday's game or Georgia Southern Student ID required for dinner
Georgia Southern Baseball vs. Samford, 6 p.m.
Coach Jeff Monken and Football Coaching Staff introduced prior to first pitch
Ceremonial first pitch: Eagle Quarterbacks coach Mitch Ware, father of baseball player Jake Ware
For tickets, call (912) GSU-WINS (478-9467)
EFAA Revere Raffle and Auction, 7-11 p.m.
Bishop Field House
For tickets, call (912) 478-5520
Sunday, April 18
Georgia Southern Baseball vs. Samford, 1:30 p.m.
J.I. Clements Stadium
For tickets, call (912) GSU-WINS (478-9467)
