Photo by: SFA Athletics
2017 SFA Football Fall Camp Report: Running Backs
8/13/2017 10:47:00 PM | Football
The ‘Jacks took to Homer Bryce Stadium Sunday night in shoulder pads and helmets for their second practice under the lights, before getting their second day off from camp Monday
The 2017 Stephen F. Austin football season is just around the corner and the Lumberjacks have begun fall camp, beginning the countdown to the 91st season of Lumberjack football in Nacogdoches. Throughout camp, SFAJacks.com will break down each position, tonight highlighting running backs.
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin football team went back to work Sunday night in Homer Bryce Stadium after holding its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday afternoon. Only the second practice under the lights during preseason, the Lumberjacks went back to shoulder pads, helmets and shorts for day 10 of camp.
The 16-period session lasted a little over 1.5 hours as players enjoyed a break from the piercing Texas sun but remained focused and filled with energy.
"I thought the energy was really good, I challenged my guys", assistant coach for the running backs Jake Brown said after practice. "It's not easy coming off of a 98-play scrimmage and then coming out to practice and going full speed effort wise. I challenged them early, 'Come out here, show up, have a good attitude and get after it', and I thought they had a really good practice tonight, all around, defense and offense. Everybody was flying around."
Practice got started with the usual pre-practice drills, followed by dynamic warmups and stretching. Positional drill took up a good portion of evening, along with full 11-on-11 drills as SFA continued to work on running its plays as a team.
Sunday's focus was on the two-minute drills as the 'Jacks wrapped up practice with a pair of end-of-game-like scenarios. The ball was placed on the offense's own 25-yard line with the goal being to get at least a field goal within 1:45 and with two timeouts. The first offensive drive succeeded with a 36-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Storm Ruiz (League City, Texas) but the second offensive drive was thwarted by great defensive plays. It ended on a failed fourth-down conversion attempt when sophomore linebacker Spencer Choka (Bryan, Texas) broke through the line for a would-be sack.
Running Backs
Another area that appears to be wide open heading into 2017 is in the backfield as SFA looks to replace its top three leading rushers from a season ago in Zach Conque (422 yds.), Joshawa West (452 yds.) and Loren Easly (497 yds.). That trio accounted for all but 231 of SFA's total rushing yards in 2016, while scoring 17 touchdowns and averaging 4.5 yards per carry in the process.
The 'Jacks return a total of four running backs from a year ago but only three letter winners, while welcoming three newcomers, including two true freshmen and one transfer. With only one senior and two juniors, SFA will display plenty of youth as the returners look to make their mark.
"We've got a really talented room right now, which creates a lot of competition", remarked assistant coach Brown. "It's what you want as a coach. We're a really close group, running backs, we all treat each other like family and we support each other on the field and off the field. It's really fun to be around as a coach."
The leader of the group appears to be SFA's lone senior, Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas), who ranked fourth on the team with 228 rushing yards on 60 carries in his first year as a Lumberjack after transferring in from Navarro College. Adding seven catches for 92 yards in 2016, Amous closed out the season with his best performance, rushing for 103 yards in the road win over Northwestern State. Amous was the featured back on the first team offense in this past Saturday's scrimmage and has looked good throughout fall camp.
Junior Jacolby Whitaker (Alto, Texas) appeared in nine games for the 'Jacks in 2016 and rushed for 122 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2015, he remains in the fold and adds another quick option out of the backfield. Sophomore Jamall Shaw (Broken Arrow, Okla.) saw action in four games last season, getting nine touches and claiming 22 yards as a true freshman. He has worked hard this preseason and got plenty of reps during Saturday's scrimmage as part of the second team offense. The running back staff's fourth returner from 2016 is redshirt freshman Josh McGowen (McAllen, Texas), who utilized his redshirt season and competed on SFA's scout team. The 'Jacks are eager to see what McGowen can do on the field as the speedster had quite a performance during spring workouts and looked awfully good during Saturday's scrimmage, appearing with the first team offense.
"I'd say Kijana and Jacolby Whitaker are the two senior leaders of this group", commented Coach Brown. "They do a really good job, everyone respects them and everybody trusts them. Kijana has had a great fall camp, every day he shows up with great energy flying around with good effort."
SFA brought in junior Arkansas transfer Juan Day (Little Rock, Ark.) this fall and has high hopes for the former Razorback. Day has two years of eligibility remaining after spending three seasons at Arkansas, redshirting as a true freshman and not seeing any action in 2016. He appeared in one game as a redshirt freshman in 2015 when he made his Razorback debut versus UT Martin and tallied 17 yards on four carries. Throughout fall camp Day has worked hard, and played extremely well with the second team offense during Saturday's scrimmage.
"Juan Day is doing a really good job of picking up the offense", Coach Brown added. "The tempo from where he's coming from to here is a little bit different so he's having to get used to that, which he's doing a really good job of."
Head Coach Clint Conque also brought in a pair of high school talents in true freshmen Dominic Williams (Round Rock, Texas) and Kam Session (Mansfield, Texas), giving the 'Jacks a nice balance of speed and size in the backfield.
"I've got a really good group of guys, which makes it very competitive", stated Coach Brown. "Every day someone is stepping up, one day it's Kijana, one day it's McGowen, Shaw, Juan. It's good to see, it's fun to coach that and the best part is that they all support each other. Off the field we have a really good meeting room."
SFA will take Monday off from practice for their second off day of the preseason, before returning to the grass fields behind the SFA Fieldhouse Tuesday. The 'Jacks will hold their first morning practice of fall camp Tuesday in shells with the session getting underway at 9:15 a.m.
The 'Jacks open up the 2017 season at SMU on Saturday, Sept. 2, before beginning the home portion of their schedule the following weekend against Southern Utah (Sept. 9).
Season tickets for 2017 SFA Football are on sale through the SFA athletics ticket office and can be purchased here. Available season ticket packages include reserved chair back and reserved bench seats. SFA football season tickets start at only $63 for the general public and $38 for faculty and staff. For more information, call 936-468-5225 (JACK).
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete 2017 fall camp coverage.
2017 SFA FOOTBALL FALL CAMP SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Aug. 15 – Practice 11 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Wednesday, Aug. 16 – Practice 12 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Thursday, Aug. 17 – Practice 13 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Shells
Friday, Aug. 18 – Practice 14 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Helmets
Saturday, Aug. 19 (Scrimmage Two) – Practice 15 (4 p.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Full Pads
Monday, Aug. 21 – Practice 16 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Tuesday, Aug. 22 – Practice 17 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Shells
Wednesday, Aug. 23 (Scrimmage Three) – Practice 18 (7 p.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Full Pads
* – Practice fields located behind the athletics fieldhouse
-SFA-
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin football team went back to work Sunday night in Homer Bryce Stadium after holding its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday afternoon. Only the second practice under the lights during preseason, the Lumberjacks went back to shoulder pads, helmets and shorts for day 10 of camp.
The 16-period session lasted a little over 1.5 hours as players enjoyed a break from the piercing Texas sun but remained focused and filled with energy.
"I thought the energy was really good, I challenged my guys", assistant coach for the running backs Jake Brown said after practice. "It's not easy coming off of a 98-play scrimmage and then coming out to practice and going full speed effort wise. I challenged them early, 'Come out here, show up, have a good attitude and get after it', and I thought they had a really good practice tonight, all around, defense and offense. Everybody was flying around."
Practice got started with the usual pre-practice drills, followed by dynamic warmups and stretching. Positional drill took up a good portion of evening, along with full 11-on-11 drills as SFA continued to work on running its plays as a team.
Sunday's focus was on the two-minute drills as the 'Jacks wrapped up practice with a pair of end-of-game-like scenarios. The ball was placed on the offense's own 25-yard line with the goal being to get at least a field goal within 1:45 and with two timeouts. The first offensive drive succeeded with a 36-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Storm Ruiz (League City, Texas) but the second offensive drive was thwarted by great defensive plays. It ended on a failed fourth-down conversion attempt when sophomore linebacker Spencer Choka (Bryan, Texas) broke through the line for a would-be sack.
Running Backs
Another area that appears to be wide open heading into 2017 is in the backfield as SFA looks to replace its top three leading rushers from a season ago in Zach Conque (422 yds.), Joshawa West (452 yds.) and Loren Easly (497 yds.). That trio accounted for all but 231 of SFA's total rushing yards in 2016, while scoring 17 touchdowns and averaging 4.5 yards per carry in the process.
The 'Jacks return a total of four running backs from a year ago but only three letter winners, while welcoming three newcomers, including two true freshmen and one transfer. With only one senior and two juniors, SFA will display plenty of youth as the returners look to make their mark.
"We've got a really talented room right now, which creates a lot of competition", remarked assistant coach Brown. "It's what you want as a coach. We're a really close group, running backs, we all treat each other like family and we support each other on the field and off the field. It's really fun to be around as a coach."
The leader of the group appears to be SFA's lone senior, Kijana Amous (Mansfield, Texas), who ranked fourth on the team with 228 rushing yards on 60 carries in his first year as a Lumberjack after transferring in from Navarro College. Adding seven catches for 92 yards in 2016, Amous closed out the season with his best performance, rushing for 103 yards in the road win over Northwestern State. Amous was the featured back on the first team offense in this past Saturday's scrimmage and has looked good throughout fall camp.
Junior Jacolby Whitaker (Alto, Texas) appeared in nine games for the 'Jacks in 2016 and rushed for 122 yards as a redshirt freshman in 2015, he remains in the fold and adds another quick option out of the backfield. Sophomore Jamall Shaw (Broken Arrow, Okla.) saw action in four games last season, getting nine touches and claiming 22 yards as a true freshman. He has worked hard this preseason and got plenty of reps during Saturday's scrimmage as part of the second team offense. The running back staff's fourth returner from 2016 is redshirt freshman Josh McGowen (McAllen, Texas), who utilized his redshirt season and competed on SFA's scout team. The 'Jacks are eager to see what McGowen can do on the field as the speedster had quite a performance during spring workouts and looked awfully good during Saturday's scrimmage, appearing with the first team offense.
"I'd say Kijana and Jacolby Whitaker are the two senior leaders of this group", commented Coach Brown. "They do a really good job, everyone respects them and everybody trusts them. Kijana has had a great fall camp, every day he shows up with great energy flying around with good effort."
SFA brought in junior Arkansas transfer Juan Day (Little Rock, Ark.) this fall and has high hopes for the former Razorback. Day has two years of eligibility remaining after spending three seasons at Arkansas, redshirting as a true freshman and not seeing any action in 2016. He appeared in one game as a redshirt freshman in 2015 when he made his Razorback debut versus UT Martin and tallied 17 yards on four carries. Throughout fall camp Day has worked hard, and played extremely well with the second team offense during Saturday's scrimmage.
"Juan Day is doing a really good job of picking up the offense", Coach Brown added. "The tempo from where he's coming from to here is a little bit different so he's having to get used to that, which he's doing a really good job of."
Head Coach Clint Conque also brought in a pair of high school talents in true freshmen Dominic Williams (Round Rock, Texas) and Kam Session (Mansfield, Texas), giving the 'Jacks a nice balance of speed and size in the backfield.
"I've got a really good group of guys, which makes it very competitive", stated Coach Brown. "Every day someone is stepping up, one day it's Kijana, one day it's McGowen, Shaw, Juan. It's good to see, it's fun to coach that and the best part is that they all support each other. Off the field we have a really good meeting room."
SFA will take Monday off from practice for their second off day of the preseason, before returning to the grass fields behind the SFA Fieldhouse Tuesday. The 'Jacks will hold their first morning practice of fall camp Tuesday in shells with the session getting underway at 9:15 a.m.
The 'Jacks open up the 2017 season at SMU on Saturday, Sept. 2, before beginning the home portion of their schedule the following weekend against Southern Utah (Sept. 9).
Season tickets for 2017 SFA Football are on sale through the SFA athletics ticket office and can be purchased here. Available season ticket packages include reserved chair back and reserved bench seats. SFA football season tickets start at only $63 for the general public and $38 for faculty and staff. For more information, call 936-468-5225 (JACK).
Stay tuned to SFAJacks.com, as well as SFA's social media platforms, for complete 2017 fall camp coverage.
2017 SFA FOOTBALL FALL CAMP SCHEDULE
Tuesday, Aug. 15 – Practice 11 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Wednesday, Aug. 16 – Practice 12 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Thursday, Aug. 17 – Practice 13 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Shells
Friday, Aug. 18 – Practice 14 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Helmets
Saturday, Aug. 19 (Scrimmage Two) – Practice 15 (4 p.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Full Pads
Monday, Aug. 21 – Practice 16 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Practice Field* | Attire: Shells
Tuesday, Aug. 22 – Practice 17 (9:15 a.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Shells
Wednesday, Aug. 23 (Scrimmage Three) – Practice 18 (7 p.m.)
Location: Homer Bryce Stadium | Attire: Full Pads
* – Practice fields located behind the athletics fieldhouse
-SFA-
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