PaladinFan
August 10th, 2006, 12:05 PM
Mr. Felton at least looks like he is ready for football.
2699
Back to business
Paladins begin preseason workouts
Published: Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 6:00 am
By Ann Green
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]
A year ago this August on the first day of football practice at Furman, a young sophomore named Renaldo Gray was looking forward to being backup quarterback to a star named Ingle Martin.
The Paladins were a preseason No. 1 in the nation, and Martin, the University of Florida transfer heading into his senior year in the Furman system, was expected to lead the team to a national championship.
On Wednesday afternoon on the practice fields at Furman, Martin was gone, drafted by the Green Bay Packers. It was Gray's turn to shoulder the preseason hopes and dreams of a team ranked No. 5 in the nation.
First day of practice jitters? No way, Gray implied with his demeanor.
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As for the latest batch of hopes and dreams, the 6-foot, 240-pound Greenwood High grad has especially broad shoulders.
"You expect people to be rusty, but it was pretty good for the first day, people getting back into the mood of football," Gray said after practice.
Why should they be rusty since practically two-thirds of the team hung close to campus and worked on their games on their own this summer?
"Three times a week the receivers and quarterbacks and DBs came out and got some work," Gray said.
Furman coach Bobby Lamb was pleased with the first day's effort, which went about two hours and 45 minutes with the Paladins in shorts and helmets.
"Like all first practices, there was a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. Our seniors kept everybody pepped up. And we put in a little bit of our offense, a little bit of the defense," Lamb said.
Furman lost one of its 10 seniors on Wednesday. According to Lamb, Jeff Fambrough, a reserve defensive lineman from Atlanta, has been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules.
In 10 days at the most, the Paladins will have a new backup quarterback, Lamb said. The candidates are Jordan Sorrells and Arthur Williams, familiar names at Furman, plus a freshman out of Calhoun High in Rome, Ga., Cody Worley, who was at Furman this summer trying to improve his chances, Lamb said.
The coach singled out Gray, who is expected to lead Furman in a more option-oriented offense this season, receiving corps leader Justin Stepp and William Middleton at cornerback for individual praise after the initial practice.
"William had a tremendous spring and had another good day out here (Wednesday). He and (flanker) Justin Stepp battled all day. Justin did a good job as well. In a practice like this, you primarily are looking at your defensive backs and wide receivers. They get all the action," Lamb said.
Martin also was a huge asset to Furman as a punter, and one of the question marks of this preseason is who will assume that role. A walk-on from Norcross, Ga., Trent Hawk, quickly showed Wednesday that he should be put in the mix of candidates.
"He really opened some eyes with a strong leg," Lamb said.
Hawk, Arthur Williams, Thomas Williams and Patrick Sprague will battle for the spot.
Lamb's plan is to install the entire offense and defense in five days.
"With five single practices, you can stay out here a good while, and you've got plenty of meeting time. We'll put in two special teams a day. And we'll start narrowing in and focusing on different things," he said.
A pair of sophomore defensive ends, Gaines Burnett and Paul White, had their tonsils out recently and missed the first practice.
"I think the doctor will turn them lose by Saturday," Lamb said. "They had it done about two weeks ago and lost about 10 pounds, but they should put it back on pretty quickly."
Safety Charlie Bailes, a transfer from the University of Florida, was out Wednesday with a lower back strain.
Will Landers, an offensive tackle, was at practice, but he will miss the preseason as he continues to rehab his knee following surgery last spring.
The Paladins are scheduled to practice at 3:15 p.m. today. Furman's practices are open to the public and take place on the fields behind the Herman Lay Physical Activities Center.
2699
Back to business
Paladins begin preseason workouts
Published: Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 6:00 am
By Ann Green
STAFF WRITER
[email protected]
A year ago this August on the first day of football practice at Furman, a young sophomore named Renaldo Gray was looking forward to being backup quarterback to a star named Ingle Martin.
The Paladins were a preseason No. 1 in the nation, and Martin, the University of Florida transfer heading into his senior year in the Furman system, was expected to lead the team to a national championship.
On Wednesday afternoon on the practice fields at Furman, Martin was gone, drafted by the Green Bay Packers. It was Gray's turn to shoulder the preseason hopes and dreams of a team ranked No. 5 in the nation.
First day of practice jitters? No way, Gray implied with his demeanor.
Advertisement
As for the latest batch of hopes and dreams, the 6-foot, 240-pound Greenwood High grad has especially broad shoulders.
"You expect people to be rusty, but it was pretty good for the first day, people getting back into the mood of football," Gray said after practice.
Why should they be rusty since practically two-thirds of the team hung close to campus and worked on their games on their own this summer?
"Three times a week the receivers and quarterbacks and DBs came out and got some work," Gray said.
Furman coach Bobby Lamb was pleased with the first day's effort, which went about two hours and 45 minutes with the Paladins in shorts and helmets.
"Like all first practices, there was a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm. Our seniors kept everybody pepped up. And we put in a little bit of our offense, a little bit of the defense," Lamb said.
Furman lost one of its 10 seniors on Wednesday. According to Lamb, Jeff Fambrough, a reserve defensive lineman from Atlanta, has been dismissed from the team for violation of team rules.
In 10 days at the most, the Paladins will have a new backup quarterback, Lamb said. The candidates are Jordan Sorrells and Arthur Williams, familiar names at Furman, plus a freshman out of Calhoun High in Rome, Ga., Cody Worley, who was at Furman this summer trying to improve his chances, Lamb said.
The coach singled out Gray, who is expected to lead Furman in a more option-oriented offense this season, receiving corps leader Justin Stepp and William Middleton at cornerback for individual praise after the initial practice.
"William had a tremendous spring and had another good day out here (Wednesday). He and (flanker) Justin Stepp battled all day. Justin did a good job as well. In a practice like this, you primarily are looking at your defensive backs and wide receivers. They get all the action," Lamb said.
Martin also was a huge asset to Furman as a punter, and one of the question marks of this preseason is who will assume that role. A walk-on from Norcross, Ga., Trent Hawk, quickly showed Wednesday that he should be put in the mix of candidates.
"He really opened some eyes with a strong leg," Lamb said.
Hawk, Arthur Williams, Thomas Williams and Patrick Sprague will battle for the spot.
Lamb's plan is to install the entire offense and defense in five days.
"With five single practices, you can stay out here a good while, and you've got plenty of meeting time. We'll put in two special teams a day. And we'll start narrowing in and focusing on different things," he said.
A pair of sophomore defensive ends, Gaines Burnett and Paul White, had their tonsils out recently and missed the first practice.
"I think the doctor will turn them lose by Saturday," Lamb said. "They had it done about two weeks ago and lost about 10 pounds, but they should put it back on pretty quickly."
Safety Charlie Bailes, a transfer from the University of Florida, was out Wednesday with a lower back strain.
Will Landers, an offensive tackle, was at practice, but he will miss the preseason as he continues to rehab his knee following surgery last spring.
The Paladins are scheduled to practice at 3:15 p.m. today. Furman's practices are open to the public and take place on the fields behind the Herman Lay Physical Activities Center.