Pace Picks up on Second Day of Spring Football Practice
3/27/2014 11:20:00 PM | Football
Eagles Put on Shells Friday as Workouts Continue
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STATESBORO, Ga. – There were a few more whistles and a lot more hustle on Thursday as Coach Willie Fritz and the Eagles finished their second day of spring football practice on the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek." On the second day of acclimation, Georgia Southern players donned helmets, shirts and shorts and became more comfortable with the "newness" of a new coaching staff, new practice format and new terminology for the spread option offense.
The high-energy practice lasted 26 periods with the Eagles going through offensive and defensive individual and position drills, pass skelly and team work. As approximately 100 Eagles are spread across two practice fields, one group in bright red jerseys is hard to miss. The quarterbacks are the key position in the transition to the spread option is the quarterback and new Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Doug Ruse is ready to take on the challenge of developing his five QBs.
"Some of the scheme is very similar to what they have done in the past, but it is a new terminology, like learning a new language," said Doug Ruse, who joined Coach Willie Fritz at Georgia Southern from Sam Houston State. "Practice one and practice two are kind of like day one and day two of school, you are kind of starting from scratch."
Sophomore Kevin Ellison returns as the veteran with a full season of playing experience as well as a redshirt year. The Cornelia, Ga., native scored two touchdowns in the Eagles' victory over Florida and had six starts as the Georgia Southern signalcaller. Vegas Harley saw action in four games in 2013 and scored a 31-yard TD on his very first collegiate play. L.A. Rambsy missed all last season with an injury and Favian Upshaw sat out for a year to comply with NCAA transfer eligibility requirements. Jake Clemens joined the program last year as a walkon.
"The energy has been fantastic, working with five quarterbacks who are new to me, we started with a clean slate with everybody," Ruse said. "We didn't want to have any preconceived ideas or opinions on guys. We wanted to start to evaluate (them) and put them in pressure situations and see how they react. It's gone great for two days."
The Eagles are back on the practice field Friday, March 28th for their third practice and first in shells. Practice on the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek" is open to the public and begins at 4:45 p.m. Georgia Southern will have three scrimmages in full pads with the Blue-White Spring Game set for 12 p.m. on April 12th.
SOUTHERN MAN AND WIFE: Eric Lee Beddingfield, a former Eagle Football player and his wife Jessica, also a Georgia Southern alum, visited practice Thursday afternoon. The couple will celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary next month and are sporting new matching tattoos of entwined Eagle talons.
EFAA REVERSE RAFFLE & AUCTION: Tickets are on sale now for the Eagle Football Alumni Association's seventh annual Reverse Raffle and Auction on April 12th at 6 p.m. The event features one-of-a-kind silent auction items, entertainment, live auction and chance to win $10,000. Tickets are $100 and include beverages and heavy hors d'oeuvres for two guests. For more information, call 912-478-5520. Proceeds benefit the Coach Erk Russell, Tom "Doc" Smith and Roger Inman scholarships as well as provide assistance for former Eagles.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Eagle fans can follow Coach Willie Fritz's twitter account @CoachWEFritz.
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