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Spring Football Practice: Eagles Looking to Improve in All Three Phases
4/11/2015 1:51:00 PM | Football
Monday's practice is set for 4 p.m. on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek
VIDEO: Practice Report | Spring Roster | 2015 Schedule | Buy Tickets
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern football coach Willie Fritz is constantly bringing up the term "all three phases," when talking about his team - offense, defense and special teams.
Most football coaches, fans and players spend a lot of time working on, talking about and examining the first two. The third phase kind of gets kicked to the curb.
Not at Georgia Southern.
In each practice this spring, the first drill the Eagles do after stretching is something pertaining to special teams. They've worked on field goals, field goal block, punt, punt return, punt coverage, punt block, kickoff coverage, kickoff return and on and on it goes.
The fact that the Eagles spend that much time on special teams when only 15 practices are allowed in the spring speaks volumes about the importance of it to Fritz and his staff.
"We need to do a better job of punting and kicking, and we need to get better in the return game," said Fritz. "We started off the season really well and then kind of faded at the end of the year with our accuracy or our distance. We also had 17 penalties on special teams, and that's 17 too many."
Senior Ryan Nowicki handled the punt duties and wound up the season averaging 40.18 yards a punt with 16 inside the 20 and six over 50 yards. After averaging 50.8 yards a punt in the opener at NC State, Nowicki noticed a dip as the season progressed.
"I started out really strong, had an awesome game against NC State and followed up with a couple good games after that," he said. "Then, it started to kind of go downhill, and I didn't finish the way I wanted to. I think one of the biggest things is that I might have done too much work in-season, and my legs kind of died out towards the end."
Just like a weekend golfer, kickers and punters start to tinker when they are not having the success they would like. And sometimes, having success is the impetus to tinker to try and be even better.
"I think I was doing so well and I wanted to do even better so I was trying to kill the ball every time I got out there," said Nowicki. "So my steps got longer, my strides got longer, my drop got longer. I think I need to work on just being calm and taking shorter steps and exploding at the end through the ball."
Nowicki and his fellow special-teams specialists are working hard this spring to improve the all-important third phase. Though noticeable strides were taken in punting, kickoffs, field goals and extra points in 2014, they know there is room for improvement.
"Each of us knows we have the ability to get it done and the confidence in each other so I think this is going to be the year it all comes together," said Nowicki. "It's a mind game – when they get down, you have to remind them how good they really are and if they miss one, forget about it and trust in their abilities."
Dressed in full pads, the Eagles scrimmaged for about an hour Saturday with officials in Paulson Stadium without tackling to the ground. They started by working the 2-minute offense then did a couple of overtime sessions and coming out of their own end zone situations.
Vegas Harley, who moved back from safety to quarterback earlier this week, tossed three touchdown passes, and receiver Miles Campbell caught a pair of TD throws from Favian Upshaw. Kevin Ellison also threw a pair of TD passes to BJ Johnson, and Darius Jones Jr., made a nice 1-handed interception in the end zone.
Georgia Southern has Sunday off and returns to practice at 4 p.m. Monday on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek.
Remaining Spring Practice Schedule
Monday, April 13 - 4 p.m. - Eagle Creek
Wednesday, April 15
Friday, April 17
Saturday, April 18 – Spring Game - 1 p.m. - Paulson - Free admission, free parking, Gates 1 and 12 open at noon, sit in North Stands
Renewal Deadline is April 14
Just four days remain to renew your Georgia Southern football season tickets and parking spaces. The deadline for football season ticket and parking renewals is Tuesday, April 14, and all non-renewed seats and parking spots will be released for sale April 15. In order to keep the same Eagle Football season tickets from the 2014 football season, fans MUST RENEW and SET UP payments by TUESDAY, APRIL 14th, 2015.
If fans miss the renewal deadline but still wish to sit in the Club Level or Eagle Club, the Georgia Southern Ticket Office will place a seating request under their account. Their seating request will be entered with the rest of the requests received by the ticket office and those requests will be ranked by priority point total.
A very limited amount of seats will become available for sections 105-109 and the Eagle Club, and the ticket office will not be able to meet a large majority of the requests for these sections. There is no guarantee that fans will be able to purchase Club Level or Eagle Club season tickets for the 2015 football season if they miss the renewal deadline.
In order to best serve Eagle Fund Donors and Season Ticket Holders, the Athletics Ticket Office will be open extended hours - Monday, April 13, and Tuesday, April 14, from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. In order to keep the same seats and parking spot as last season, be sure to contact the Ticket Office by:
1.) Calling 1-800-GSU-WINS
2.) Renewing online at www.GSEagles.com/renewals
3.) Mailing in your renewal form before APRIL 14th. Please also note, if your renewal form is sent via U.S. Mail and it is not received by April 14th, then your seats will be dropped from your account.
4.) Renew in person at the Athletic Foundation and Ticket Office Building at Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Dr. Statesboro, GA 30458)
Ticket Office Hours Are:
(Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.)
(April 13 and 14 - 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.)
Season Tickets on Sale Now
Football season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale now, and fans can purchase them as well as parking by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting the ticket office in the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Drive). Ticket office hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Season tickets and parking can also be purchased at this month's Coaches' Caravan events beginning April 21 in Emanuel County - VISA, MasterCard, AmEx and cash are accepted. The season ticket renewal deadline as well as the parking renewal deadline is April 14, and online sales for new season tickets and new parking begin May 1.
The journey continues for the Georgia Southern football team in year two of FBS play as the Eagles will face two "Power Five" conference teams, four teams that played in bowl games a year ago and will host six home games in the 2015 football season.
The Eagles will host a pair of teams that played in bowl games last season. Western Michigan (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) comes to town for the home opener Sept. 12, and the Eagles welcome South Alabama (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl) Nov. 28.
Texas State, which finished the season bowl eligible with a 7-5 record, will travel to Statesboro for a Thursday night ESPNU national broadcast Oct. 29. The Eagles will close out the 2015 regular season at home against in-state rival Georgia State Dec. 5. The Citadel visits Paulson Stadium Sept. 19, and the Eagles play host to New Mexico State Oct. 17.
Despite six home games in 2015 compared to five in 2014, season ticket prices have stayed the same, and a majority of required annual donations to the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation in order to purchase season tickets remain the same as well.
"Last season was fantastic with attendance, but we need to amp it up even more," said Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz. "It's not just a football game; it's an event when you play at Paulson Stadium with pre-game and everything going on and with Southern Pride and the cheerleaders, the dance team and the game-day presentation. Hopefully, what we did last year will attract even more fans."
Season tickets prices start as low as $75 for all six games, and seats that do not require a donation are available from $135-145 per seat. All season ticket pricing and pricing and donation requirements can be found below.
Important Ticket Dates and Deadlines:
Tuesday, April 14 – Season ticket renewal deadline
Tuesday, April 14 – Parking renewal deadline
Tuesday, April 14 – Spring Game Tailgate Cook-Off registration deadline
Saturday, April 18 – Blue vs. White Spring Game, 1 p.m. kickoff
Monday, August 24 – Single-game sales begin
Free Admission, Free Parking, North Stands Open, Field of Dreams Open for Spring Game April 18
Register for Tailgate Cook-Off
The second annual Tailgate Cook-Off, guest coaches, autograph sessions and a UniFlame Gas Grill giveaway highlight the activities surrounding the Blue vs. White Spring Football Game in Paulson Stadium April 18.
Admission and parking are free, gates open at noon and the game kicks off at 1 p.m. Fans can enter through Gates 1 and 12, and are asked to sit in the North Stands. Food concessions, an adidas merchandise area and season ticket kiosk will be open behind the North Stands. Game programs from the 2014 Sun Belt Championship season will be on sale for $3 a program or $10 for the season set.
The Rotary Corporation Field of Dreams will be open with inflatables available, courtesy of Crazy Nick's Inflatables. Honorary Coaches Dr. Brooks A. Keel and Leonard Bevill will assist in coaching the two teams, and players and coaches will be available for autographs after the game. Southern Pride and the Georgia Southern cheer team will also be at the game.
The Second Annual Spring Football Tailgate Cook-Off will also take place with tasting beginning at 11 a.m. and concluding at 12:30 p.m. Eagle fans are invited to serve as tasting judges for $3 to enter the tailgate zone, sample the food and complete a ballot to determine the top four. Scores from the tasting judges will be calculated, and winners will be announced during the game.
The top-place tailgate and grill masters win a one-night stay at a hotel plus 2 tickets to the Georgia Southern vs. Georgia game in Athens Nov. 21, 2015. To enter the contest, a team or individual must register online by April 14 and pay a $20 cash fee per entry on site April 18.
Fans at the game can enter a drawing for a UniFlame Gas Grill, courtesy of the Sun Belt Conference. Fans must be at least 18-years-old to enter the drawing.
EFAA Raffle
The Eagle Football Alumni Association (EFAA) will be holding its Eighth Annual $10,000 Reverse Raffle & Auction Sat., April 18, at 5 p.m. in the Gene Bishop Field House at Paulson Stadium following the Blue & White Spring Game.
There will be a silent and live auction, which will feature an array of items such as autographed memorabilia, vacation opportunities, once-in-a-lifetime Georgia Southern game experiences, vintage Georgia Southern Football memorabilia, autographed memorabilia from local professional teams and much more. In addition, the Third Edition Erk Russell Commemorative Shotgun will be auctioned off in the live auction. This year's theme for the shotgun is "Yellow School Buses." The final 10 tickets in the reverse raffle will be drawn after the live auction, and the final ticket will win $10,000.
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. For tickets, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern football coach Willie Fritz is constantly bringing up the term "all three phases," when talking about his team - offense, defense and special teams.
Most football coaches, fans and players spend a lot of time working on, talking about and examining the first two. The third phase kind of gets kicked to the curb.
Not at Georgia Southern.
In each practice this spring, the first drill the Eagles do after stretching is something pertaining to special teams. They've worked on field goals, field goal block, punt, punt return, punt coverage, punt block, kickoff coverage, kickoff return and on and on it goes.
The fact that the Eagles spend that much time on special teams when only 15 practices are allowed in the spring speaks volumes about the importance of it to Fritz and his staff.
"We need to do a better job of punting and kicking, and we need to get better in the return game," said Fritz. "We started off the season really well and then kind of faded at the end of the year with our accuracy or our distance. We also had 17 penalties on special teams, and that's 17 too many."
Senior Ryan Nowicki handled the punt duties and wound up the season averaging 40.18 yards a punt with 16 inside the 20 and six over 50 yards. After averaging 50.8 yards a punt in the opener at NC State, Nowicki noticed a dip as the season progressed.
"I started out really strong, had an awesome game against NC State and followed up with a couple good games after that," he said. "Then, it started to kind of go downhill, and I didn't finish the way I wanted to. I think one of the biggest things is that I might have done too much work in-season, and my legs kind of died out towards the end."
Just like a weekend golfer, kickers and punters start to tinker when they are not having the success they would like. And sometimes, having success is the impetus to tinker to try and be even better.
"I think I was doing so well and I wanted to do even better so I was trying to kill the ball every time I got out there," said Nowicki. "So my steps got longer, my strides got longer, my drop got longer. I think I need to work on just being calm and taking shorter steps and exploding at the end through the ball."
Nowicki and his fellow special-teams specialists are working hard this spring to improve the all-important third phase. Though noticeable strides were taken in punting, kickoffs, field goals and extra points in 2014, they know there is room for improvement.
"Each of us knows we have the ability to get it done and the confidence in each other so I think this is going to be the year it all comes together," said Nowicki. "It's a mind game – when they get down, you have to remind them how good they really are and if they miss one, forget about it and trust in their abilities."
Dressed in full pads, the Eagles scrimmaged for about an hour Saturday with officials in Paulson Stadium without tackling to the ground. They started by working the 2-minute offense then did a couple of overtime sessions and coming out of their own end zone situations.
Vegas Harley, who moved back from safety to quarterback earlier this week, tossed three touchdown passes, and receiver Miles Campbell caught a pair of TD throws from Favian Upshaw. Kevin Ellison also threw a pair of TD passes to BJ Johnson, and Darius Jones Jr., made a nice 1-handed interception in the end zone.
Georgia Southern has Sunday off and returns to practice at 4 p.m. Monday on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek.
Remaining Spring Practice Schedule
Monday, April 13 - 4 p.m. - Eagle Creek
Wednesday, April 15
Friday, April 17
Saturday, April 18 – Spring Game - 1 p.m. - Paulson - Free admission, free parking, Gates 1 and 12 open at noon, sit in North Stands
Renewal Deadline is April 14
Just four days remain to renew your Georgia Southern football season tickets and parking spaces. The deadline for football season ticket and parking renewals is Tuesday, April 14, and all non-renewed seats and parking spots will be released for sale April 15. In order to keep the same Eagle Football season tickets from the 2014 football season, fans MUST RENEW and SET UP payments by TUESDAY, APRIL 14th, 2015.
If fans miss the renewal deadline but still wish to sit in the Club Level or Eagle Club, the Georgia Southern Ticket Office will place a seating request under their account. Their seating request will be entered with the rest of the requests received by the ticket office and those requests will be ranked by priority point total.
A very limited amount of seats will become available for sections 105-109 and the Eagle Club, and the ticket office will not be able to meet a large majority of the requests for these sections. There is no guarantee that fans will be able to purchase Club Level or Eagle Club season tickets for the 2015 football season if they miss the renewal deadline.
In order to best serve Eagle Fund Donors and Season Ticket Holders, the Athletics Ticket Office will be open extended hours - Monday, April 13, and Tuesday, April 14, from 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m. In order to keep the same seats and parking spot as last season, be sure to contact the Ticket Office by:
1.) Calling 1-800-GSU-WINS
2.) Renewing online at www.GSEagles.com/renewals
3.) Mailing in your renewal form before APRIL 14th. Please also note, if your renewal form is sent via U.S. Mail and it is not received by April 14th, then your seats will be dropped from your account.
4.) Renew in person at the Athletic Foundation and Ticket Office Building at Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Dr. Statesboro, GA 30458)
Ticket Office Hours Are:
(Mon-Fri, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.)
(April 13 and 14 - 8:30 a.m.-7 p.m.)
Season Tickets on Sale Now
Football season tickets for the 2015 campaign are on sale now, and fans can purchase them as well as parking by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS or by visiting the ticket office in the Cowart Building adjacent to Paulson Stadium (203 Lanier Drive). Ticket office hours are Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
Season tickets and parking can also be purchased at this month's Coaches' Caravan events beginning April 21 in Emanuel County - VISA, MasterCard, AmEx and cash are accepted. The season ticket renewal deadline as well as the parking renewal deadline is April 14, and online sales for new season tickets and new parking begin May 1.
The journey continues for the Georgia Southern football team in year two of FBS play as the Eagles will face two "Power Five" conference teams, four teams that played in bowl games a year ago and will host six home games in the 2015 football season.
The Eagles will host a pair of teams that played in bowl games last season. Western Michigan (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl) comes to town for the home opener Sept. 12, and the Eagles welcome South Alabama (Raycom Media Camellia Bowl) Nov. 28.
Texas State, which finished the season bowl eligible with a 7-5 record, will travel to Statesboro for a Thursday night ESPNU national broadcast Oct. 29. The Eagles will close out the 2015 regular season at home against in-state rival Georgia State Dec. 5. The Citadel visits Paulson Stadium Sept. 19, and the Eagles play host to New Mexico State Oct. 17.
Despite six home games in 2015 compared to five in 2014, season ticket prices have stayed the same, and a majority of required annual donations to the Georgia Southern Athletic Foundation in order to purchase season tickets remain the same as well.
"Last season was fantastic with attendance, but we need to amp it up even more," said Georgia Southern coach Willie Fritz. "It's not just a football game; it's an event when you play at Paulson Stadium with pre-game and everything going on and with Southern Pride and the cheerleaders, the dance team and the game-day presentation. Hopefully, what we did last year will attract even more fans."
Season tickets prices start as low as $75 for all six games, and seats that do not require a donation are available from $135-145 per seat. All season ticket pricing and pricing and donation requirements can be found below.
Important Ticket Dates and Deadlines:
Tuesday, April 14 – Season ticket renewal deadline
Tuesday, April 14 – Parking renewal deadline
Tuesday, April 14 – Spring Game Tailgate Cook-Off registration deadline
Saturday, April 18 – Blue vs. White Spring Game, 1 p.m. kickoff
Monday, August 24 – Single-game sales begin
Free Admission, Free Parking, North Stands Open, Field of Dreams Open for Spring Game April 18
Register for Tailgate Cook-Off
The second annual Tailgate Cook-Off, guest coaches, autograph sessions and a UniFlame Gas Grill giveaway highlight the activities surrounding the Blue vs. White Spring Football Game in Paulson Stadium April 18.
Admission and parking are free, gates open at noon and the game kicks off at 1 p.m. Fans can enter through Gates 1 and 12, and are asked to sit in the North Stands. Food concessions, an adidas merchandise area and season ticket kiosk will be open behind the North Stands. Game programs from the 2014 Sun Belt Championship season will be on sale for $3 a program or $10 for the season set.
The Rotary Corporation Field of Dreams will be open with inflatables available, courtesy of Crazy Nick's Inflatables. Honorary Coaches Dr. Brooks A. Keel and Leonard Bevill will assist in coaching the two teams, and players and coaches will be available for autographs after the game. Southern Pride and the Georgia Southern cheer team will also be at the game.
The Second Annual Spring Football Tailgate Cook-Off will also take place with tasting beginning at 11 a.m. and concluding at 12:30 p.m. Eagle fans are invited to serve as tasting judges for $3 to enter the tailgate zone, sample the food and complete a ballot to determine the top four. Scores from the tasting judges will be calculated, and winners will be announced during the game.
The top-place tailgate and grill masters win a one-night stay at a hotel plus 2 tickets to the Georgia Southern vs. Georgia game in Athens Nov. 21, 2015. To enter the contest, a team or individual must register online by April 14 and pay a $20 cash fee per entry on site April 18.
Fans at the game can enter a drawing for a UniFlame Gas Grill, courtesy of the Sun Belt Conference. Fans must be at least 18-years-old to enter the drawing.
EFAA Raffle
The Eagle Football Alumni Association (EFAA) will be holding its Eighth Annual $10,000 Reverse Raffle & Auction Sat., April 18, at 5 p.m. in the Gene Bishop Field House at Paulson Stadium following the Blue & White Spring Game.
There will be a silent and live auction, which will feature an array of items such as autographed memorabilia, vacation opportunities, once-in-a-lifetime Georgia Southern game experiences, vintage Georgia Southern Football memorabilia, autographed memorabilia from local professional teams and much more. In addition, the Third Edition Erk Russell Commemorative Shotgun will be auctioned off in the live auction. This year's theme for the shotgun is "Yellow School Buses." The final 10 tickets in the reverse raffle will be drawn after the live auction, and the final ticket will win $10,000.
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. For tickets, call 1-800-GSU-WINS or visit GSEagles.com/tickets.
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