Camp Begins For 2022 Eagle Football Season
8/3/2022 4:00:00 PM | Football
110 players take the field at Paulson Stadium
STATESBORO - While the team has been on campus working out most of the summer, the official start to the 2022 Georgia Southern football season was signified Wednesday morning as the squad took the field at Allen E. Paulson Stadium for the start of preseason camp.
The team went through a spirited two-hour practice in helmets and jerseys after starting the day with an early breakfast at Bishop Fieldhouse, position meetings and a brief walk-through. The rest of the day consisted of lunch, a team meeting at 4 p.m., practice review, dinner, installation meetings and finally a snack before breaking for the evening. The team will repeat this schedule for the next three days before having Sunday off.
Head coach Clay Helton was pleased with the up-tempo practice and praised the team for how it handled the heat on a warm summer Statesboro morning.
"It was a good opening day, and I'm very thankful we have 25 practices," Helton said. "I thought the kids came out with good energy, good focus and really put a lot of work over the summer. You're talking about eight weeks' worth of meetings, of prep, plus strength and conditioning. It was evident in practice one the condition they're in right now"
A few notes from the day:
• The official start-of-camp roster was released on Monday and it features 134 players. The NCAA allows only 110 to report to camp and practice and the rest can begin their acclimation period once classes start. With the Eagles having open practices, the players not working out as part of the 110-man roster are allowed to be in attendance and watch practice to help keep them up to speed and ready to go when they can hit the field next week. Georgia Southern begins its fall term in a week, on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
• The receivers better spend some extra time brushing up on their math as coaches were asking them to solve simple addition problems while tracking balls in the air. Helton said today was easy and they'll get into multiplication and division as the preseason progresses. When you have a head coach who was a math major, it should come as no surprise to see some numbers involved in practice. Helton told the media after practice that the purpose of this drill is to make it harder in practice so that when you get to a game, catching the ball while other distractions are going on becomes second nature.
• A lot of new faces were on the field for the first time. In all, there are 34 new players who have joined the team since the end of spring practice, including 10 transfers. When adding together all freshmen and transfers, there are 54 new players on the roster since the Eagles last played a game in November.
• Speaking of transfers, the Eagles have 19 players on the fall roster who have transferred in from NCAA Division-I schools. Eight of them have just one year of eligibility left.
• Ten Georgia Southern players on the 2022 roster are in their sixth year of eligibility. The Eagles even have one player (Todd Bradley-Glenn) in his seventh year of eligibility. Bradley-Glenn is the oldest on the roster at 25, followed by quarterback Kyle Vantrease who turns 24 on Aug. 20.
• After a spring with no music being played during practice, the Eagles were serenaded with music during stretching, but also at the end of practice during a team drill. Helton said that this was to simulate what it would be like - and how to communicate - in loud road stadiums, and for the defense when Paulson Stadium is rocking.
• Cornerback Derrick Canteen was back on the field full go after suffering a torn pectoral muscle early in the FAU game last year. He was limited in the spring as a precaution, but told the media after practice he is 100% for the first time since that FAU game in September of 2021.
• Senior punter Anthony Beck II didn't have much to do on Day 1 as Helton said he has the kickers and punters on a pitch count, much like the quarterbacks. Today was a day for the kickers to have a period mid-practice and Beck II assumed his duties as the holder for snapper Mark Langston. The kickers were perfect on the day, by the way. Expect the right leg of Beck II to be in action soon though. In the meantime, he and several of the specialists were seen helping hand out cold towels to teammates when they came off the field. Helton said he expects them to be out at practice to be great teammates, even if it's a light day for them. Beck II was asked after practice by the media what was being worked on in terms of speeding up the kick process. Beck II said it was pointed out at a meeting last night that the Eagles had the most kicks blocked in the country last year and promises that will not happen again this year.
• Here's a breakdown of the classifications:
Seventh-Year Seniors (1); Sixth-Year Seniors (10); Fifth-Year Seniors (4); Redshirt Seniors (10); Seniors (4); Redshirt Juniors (29); Juniors (7); Redshirt Sophomores (13); Sophomores (5); Redshirt Freshmen (17); Freshmen (34)
• Here's a breakdown of the positions:
Quarterbacks (9); Running Backs (9); Wide Receivers (21); Tight Ends (7); Offensive Line (20); Defensive Lines (19); Linebackers (11); Defensive Backs (27); Punters (2); Kickers (5); Long Snappers (4)
• Here's a breakdown of home states:
Georgia (89); Florida (14); South Carolina (9); North Carolina (5); Alabama (4); Louisiana (3); California (3); Hawaii (1); Mississippi (1); New Jersey (1); Ohio (1); Pennsylvania (1); Tennessee (1); Texas (1)
Gallery: (8-3-2022) 22 Football: Fall Football Practice #1
The team went through a spirited two-hour practice in helmets and jerseys after starting the day with an early breakfast at Bishop Fieldhouse, position meetings and a brief walk-through. The rest of the day consisted of lunch, a team meeting at 4 p.m., practice review, dinner, installation meetings and finally a snack before breaking for the evening. The team will repeat this schedule for the next three days before having Sunday off.
Head coach Clay Helton was pleased with the up-tempo practice and praised the team for how it handled the heat on a warm summer Statesboro morning.
"It was a good opening day, and I'm very thankful we have 25 practices," Helton said. "I thought the kids came out with good energy, good focus and really put a lot of work over the summer. You're talking about eight weeks' worth of meetings, of prep, plus strength and conditioning. It was evident in practice one the condition they're in right now"
A few notes from the day:
• The official start-of-camp roster was released on Monday and it features 134 players. The NCAA allows only 110 to report to camp and practice and the rest can begin their acclimation period once classes start. With the Eagles having open practices, the players not working out as part of the 110-man roster are allowed to be in attendance and watch practice to help keep them up to speed and ready to go when they can hit the field next week. Georgia Southern begins its fall term in a week, on Wednesday, Aug. 10.
• The receivers better spend some extra time brushing up on their math as coaches were asking them to solve simple addition problems while tracking balls in the air. Helton said today was easy and they'll get into multiplication and division as the preseason progresses. When you have a head coach who was a math major, it should come as no surprise to see some numbers involved in practice. Helton told the media after practice that the purpose of this drill is to make it harder in practice so that when you get to a game, catching the ball while other distractions are going on becomes second nature.
• A lot of new faces were on the field for the first time. In all, there are 34 new players who have joined the team since the end of spring practice, including 10 transfers. When adding together all freshmen and transfers, there are 54 new players on the roster since the Eagles last played a game in November.
• Speaking of transfers, the Eagles have 19 players on the fall roster who have transferred in from NCAA Division-I schools. Eight of them have just one year of eligibility left.
• Ten Georgia Southern players on the 2022 roster are in their sixth year of eligibility. The Eagles even have one player (Todd Bradley-Glenn) in his seventh year of eligibility. Bradley-Glenn is the oldest on the roster at 25, followed by quarterback Kyle Vantrease who turns 24 on Aug. 20.
• After a spring with no music being played during practice, the Eagles were serenaded with music during stretching, but also at the end of practice during a team drill. Helton said that this was to simulate what it would be like - and how to communicate - in loud road stadiums, and for the defense when Paulson Stadium is rocking.
• Cornerback Derrick Canteen was back on the field full go after suffering a torn pectoral muscle early in the FAU game last year. He was limited in the spring as a precaution, but told the media after practice he is 100% for the first time since that FAU game in September of 2021.
• Senior punter Anthony Beck II didn't have much to do on Day 1 as Helton said he has the kickers and punters on a pitch count, much like the quarterbacks. Today was a day for the kickers to have a period mid-practice and Beck II assumed his duties as the holder for snapper Mark Langston. The kickers were perfect on the day, by the way. Expect the right leg of Beck II to be in action soon though. In the meantime, he and several of the specialists were seen helping hand out cold towels to teammates when they came off the field. Helton said he expects them to be out at practice to be great teammates, even if it's a light day for them. Beck II was asked after practice by the media what was being worked on in terms of speeding up the kick process. Beck II said it was pointed out at a meeting last night that the Eagles had the most kicks blocked in the country last year and promises that will not happen again this year.
• Here's a breakdown of the classifications:
Seventh-Year Seniors (1); Sixth-Year Seniors (10); Fifth-Year Seniors (4); Redshirt Seniors (10); Seniors (4); Redshirt Juniors (29); Juniors (7); Redshirt Sophomores (13); Sophomores (5); Redshirt Freshmen (17); Freshmen (34)
• Here's a breakdown of the positions:
Quarterbacks (9); Running Backs (9); Wide Receivers (21); Tight Ends (7); Offensive Line (20); Defensive Lines (19); Linebackers (11); Defensive Backs (27); Punters (2); Kickers (5); Long Snappers (4)
• Here's a breakdown of home states:
Georgia (89); Florida (14); South Carolina (9); North Carolina (5); Alabama (4); Louisiana (3); California (3); Hawaii (1); Mississippi (1); New Jersey (1); Ohio (1); Pennsylvania (1); Tennessee (1); Texas (1)
Players Mentioned
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