2017 SFA Football Fall Camp Report: Wide Receivers

Photo by: SFA Athletics

2017 SFA Football Fall Camp Report: Wide Receivers

8/16/2017 6:27:00 PM | Football

The ‘Jacks continued with their 12th day of fall camp Wednesday morning on the grass practice fields in shells

By: Luke Bolanos | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

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, today highlighting wide receivers.

Practice 12 Photo Gallery

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin football team took part in its second morning practice of fall camp Wednesday as the Lumberjacks worked out in shoulder pads, helmets and shorts on the grass fields behind the SFA Fieldhouse. The morning session lasted about one hour and 45 min. as the team worked on several different types of game situations.

Following the usual pre-practice drills, the 'Jacks took part in dynamic warmups and stretching before working on field goals and extra points. After positional drills, the bulk of the 20-period practice included 14 run/play-action repetitions before going into 14 situational plays, and then running 21 open-field plays.

The team practiced punting for a couple of periods before conducting 21 more plays, running seven from deep within the offense's own 20. The 'Jacks focused on "coming out", working on getting the offense out from being pinned back on their own side of the field. Practice came to a close with conditioning but not before the team ran 14 red zone plays.

"We just concluded our second morning practice, which is big as far as transition is concerned going from an evening practice to a morning practice and getting the energy out of those guys", assistant coach Jeremy Moses (wide receivers) said following the morning session. "I thought today was really good as far as the tempo and energy is concerned, the guys had a little more excitement underneath their feet today compared to yesterday and are getting used to the time change."

Wide Receivers

If there is one position on the offense that the coaching staff is most excited about, it is the SFA wide receiving corps. The 'Jacks have arguably, on paper, of one of the best receiving groups, including nine who stand at 6-foot-2 or taller. SFA returns a total of five from a season ago, including four letter winners and two starters. With only one senior in the unit and a total of 10 newcomers, the 'Jacks have a plethora of youth heading into the fall. With five true freshmen, a redshirt freshman, four sophomores and a redshirt sophomore, SFA has plenty of underclassman eager to make a name for themselves. However, the 'Jacks have also welcomed experience to the position with the addition of four transfers.

One of the bright spots on the SFA offensive unit in 2016 was the emergence of then-true freshman Tamrick Pace (Brownsboro, Texas), who led the team with 52 catches for 836 yards and eight touchdowns. His numbers ranked him second all-time in program history for a performance by a freshman. Named All-Southland Conference honorable mention and earning Freshman All-American honors from Hero Sports FCS last year, Pace was tabbed a preseason All-Southland Second Team selection for 2017. The sophomore should be a consistent threat for opposing defenses in 2017.

"He gets better and better every day", Coach Moses commented on Pace. "What I like about Tamrick is he comes to work, doesn't say a whole lot, puts his nose down and grinds, which is my kind of guy."

The 'Jacks also return second-team All-Southland selection Trae Hart (Mesquite, Texas), who ranked third on the team a season ago with 42 catches for 511 yards and a pair of touchdowns. As SFA's lone senior among the receivers, Hart looks to finish off his career as a Lumberjack on a high note after averaging 12.2 yards per reception in 2016. Also a member of the special teams, Hart was named to the preseason All-Southland First Team as a punt returner and to the second team offense as an all-purpose player.

The other two returning letter winners from 2016 are sophomores Cody Williams (Pearland, Texas) and Jonathan Sam (Pearland, Texas), who combined for 12 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown. The duo saw major reps during spring practices and both looked good in the first scrimmage of preseason camp; they figure to play a key role in SFA's offensive attack this fall. Rounding out the list of returners from a year ago is sophomore Tae Thomas (Nacogdoches, Texas), who utilized his redshirt season in 2016 and competed on the Lumberjack scout team.

Looking to bolster depth, size and speed at the position, the 'Jacks will enjoy a trio of transfers who should have an immediate impact this season. Juniors Frank Iheanacho (Houston, Texas) from Texas A&M, Terian Goree (Carthage, Texas) from North Texas and Romello Bentley (Jacksonville, Fla.) from Sierra Community College in California all look to contribute immediately. Iheanacho and Goree each saw significant playing time at the FBS level and both hit the ground running in spring workouts and have continued to impress throughout fall camp. Iheanacho played 18 games for the Aggies in 2014 and 2016, tallying eight catches for 71 yards. Goree spent three seasons at North Texas, playing in 21 games with 18 starts, while making 51 catches for 446 yards and scoring three touchdowns. SFA has also welcomed redshirt sophomore transfer Lar'Darion Cobb (Dallas, Texas), who comes to the university from NAIA Langston University in Oklahoma.

"I've been nothing but pleased with his (Iheanacho's) performance", stated Coach Moses. "He's a longer, physical guy that we could use on the inside as well as the outside. He has got a lot of energy, a verbal guy that really carries his group as far as communication is concerned. Going from spring to summer, to now fall semester, he gets better and better every day and I'm looking forward to seeing what his true potential is when Saturday hits here versus SMU."

"I was very excited to get him here (Goree) and I'm very pleased to have him here", added Coach Moses. "His (Goree's) work ethic since he's been here has been fantastic. He's another guy who's very vocal within the group and carries that attitude from day to day. Romello Bentley is going to be another guy who's expected to play a big role as far as the transfers are concerned."

Head coach Clint Conque also added three major high school signees, each of which had standout prep careers, and very well could see some passes this fall. Thomas Nolley (Fort Worth, Texas) rejoined the team after spending a year off recovering from a knee injury sustained in fall camp of 2016. Josh Thompson (Garland, Texas) and Dylan Parker (Elysian Fields, Texas) bring even more depth and speed at the position as the duo were both all-state honorees. Fellow true freshmen David Crenshaw (Houston, Texas) and Jaylon Maxie (Nacogdoches, Texas) will also compete for time on the field, along with newcomer Darby Baldwin who is a redshirt freshman from Beaumont, Texas.

Coach Moses remarked about his receiving corps as a whole, "We're excited about being able to get this group on the field because the attitude, the effort, the enthusiasm out of these guys has been fantastic each and every day and it continues to get better. I'm looking forward to seeing how exciting this group can actually be because I don't think we've reached full potential as far as a unit yet, but we're getting there."

SFA continues preseason camp tomorrow with another 9:15 a.m. practice in shells, however, the 'Jacks will move over to Homer Bryce Stadium for day 13.

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

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-