Fall Camp Report: Monday, August 18
8/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
Monday, August 18 Photo Gallery
SFA Practice Report • Monday, August 18
Times: 9:15 to 10:45 a.m.; 3:45 to 4:50 p.m.
Periods: 18; 13
Attire: Shells and shorts; Helmets and shorts
Practice Notes:
• SFA held the third of its four two-a-day practice sessions Monday. The opening session was held on the grass practice fields, running 18 periods
• The focus of the morning practice once again was third down situations as well as installing the Lumberjacks' two-minute offense
• SFA went just 13 periods in the afternoon practice on the turf at Homer Bryce Stadium, working solely on special teams with individual drills
• The Lumberjacks will hold one morning practice on Tuesday, August 19th, before holding its annual Media Day beginning at 2 p.m. The official team picture, as well as individual and group shots and video board headshots, will also be taken.
• SFA will take a break from its practice schedule Tuesday evening for the annual Meet the `Jacks event, sponsored by the Fredonia Rotary Club. The event will be held at the Grand Ballroom in the SFA Student Center beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Offensive Notes:
• SFA's tight ends continue to add a new dimension to the Lumberjack offensive threat. Converted senior lineman Danan Henderson has provided the leadership role with freshmen Jayson Clements and Will Taylor making strides
• With a renewed emphasis on third down and two-minute situations, SFA's offensive gameplan for the day did not include big plays. But a handful of receivers, including Marquis Mosley, Bradley Krall, DJ Ward and Aaron Thomas, made key plays with the running threat of Gus Johnson, Cameron Washington and Joshawa West converting a handful of situations for the 'Jacks
Defensive Notes:
• SFA's defensive unit came up big during the two-minute scenarios, keeping the offensive unit at bay and preventing any drives deep into the defensive territory
• Junior defensive tackle Donald Bryant capped a solid performance by the defensive units with a pick-six interception on the final play of the morning practice
Next Practice: Tuesday, August 19 • 9:15 a.m.
Practice Q&A: Defensive tackle coach Chris Van Horn
On how the defensive line performed in Saturday's scrimmage:
"I thought they played well. We're starting to get some consistency in our game and the fundamentals are getting better. We made some big plays. As a defensive tackle unit, we had three or four sacks and another four or five pressures, so we're doing a good job of making big plays. We just need to be more consistent early in the drives and making big plays there as well."
On the improvement of the defensive tackles:
"They're building that confidence. They had the spring underneath me to learn how we want to do things, learn new techniques. Coming back now to fall camp, that's a total of five weeks of nothing but my fundamentals and what I've taught, and they've done a great job of listening, accepting and concentrating on the little details that will make them successful."
On what has been the biggest difference they've had to adapt to:
"The biggest thing I've seen is that they've gotten in great shape since the spring. Shayvion Hatten, Rodney Timmons, Donald Bryant, Lance Skyler, Ashante Joseph - all of them are in great shape and they are able to play five, six, seven, eight plays in a row without getting tired. In the spring, those guys were struggling to get through three plays. So conditioning has been huge, and then just a bunch of little things have made a difference. Little steps, shooting your hands at the right target, seeing your keys and knowing where you're suppose to be on every play has built their confidence. When you play with confidence, you can play a lot faster."
On seeing plays such as Donald Bryant's pick-six to end the morning session:
"It's exciting, and that's why you do it. They're not out here doing all this for the coaches, they're doing it for themselves. That's why we as coaches are in this business is to be able to coach players and see that type of success. Watching them make big plays - I try to bring excitement and the defense gets excited, and it makes it fun and makes it enjoyable."
On what the focus will be over the final week of camp:
"For us, its pad level and no MA's (missed assignments). We've been running to the football well and getting where we need to be, and I'm happy for that. Now we've really got to concentrate when they're tired on not letting any mental mistakes happen and getting our pad level a little better."
-SFA-
