Combined Reports
(August 14, 2010)

Here are the reports for local colleges in the River Region as well as Alabama, Auburn and Troy

ASU go through two workouts

The Alabama State University Hornets held two practice sessions Friday as they prepared for their first scrimmage.  The practices consisted of 16 periods as the team worked on fundamentals in preparation for Saturday’s scrimmage.

“We wanted to continue to build on our fundamentals and work on our techniques,” head coach Reggie Barlow said.  “We kept the practices shorter and only worked in shorts in helmets as we wanted to keep the players fresh for tomorrow’s scrimmage.”

The Hornets offense has been installed as the coaching staff looks to use the full playbook in Saturday’s scrimmage.

“We were able to install the whole playbook in the first few days of practice,” Barlow said.  “We will use the scrimmage to see how well we can run the offense.”

The scrimmage will consist of 50-75 plays and will be a drive oriented scrimmage with the offense going against the defense.  The scrimmage will then consist of several situational plays including work in the red zone.

The scrimmage will be held at Hornets Stadium and is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

Tide ready for first scrimmage

TUSCALOOSA – The Alabama football team held a two-hour practice session in shells (helmets, shoulder pads and shorts) Friday afternoon. The practice is the final preparation for the team’s first scrimmage which will take place Saturday.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban elected to give the players a break from the West Alabama heat, which reached into the 100’s once again Friday, by moving practice into the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility. Wednesday’s practice was also held in the air conditioned facility.

“I think that right now you always want to practice with safety and player’s safety in mind,” head coach Nick Saban said. “The way we practice has been good for us in terms of the history of keeping players healthy and being able to get them to improve as players.

“I don’t think there is anything you can do right now practicing in these circumstances, these conditions, this number of practices, going two-a-days, one-a-days, two-a-days, that the players are going to be fresh and be healthy and they’re not ready to play a game now. It’s how they recover after all that is over and how you allow them to recover when all that is over, that’s going to be the key of where you want them to be for the first game.”

The Crimson Tide will hit the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium tomorrow for the first scrimmage of fall camp. The scrimmage is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. (CDT) and is closed to the public.

Auburn set for Fan Day

AUBURN — Auburn’s annual Fan Day presented by Golden Flake Snack Foods will be Sunday from 2-4 p.m. CT at the brand new Auburn Arena. The event is free of charge. Doors for Fan Day will open at 1:45 p.m.

The Auburn football team, football head coach Gene Chizik, Auburn men’s basketball coach Tony Barbee and his staff, the Auburn women’s basketball team including head coach Nell Fortner, along with the Auburn cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, Aubie, and the soccer and volleyball teams will be available for autographs. Posters and schedule cards will be provided at no charge.

Fans are asked to enter the Auburn Arena from the south side through the doors leading in to the practice court facility. Fans interested in obtaining Coach Chizik’s autograph will be asked to enter the arena through the Scholarship Entry on the southeast corner. There will not be access to Coach Chizik’s line inside the arena.

The Auburn football team will be staged on the main concourse of the arena. The men’s basketball staff, women’s basketball team and staff, Auburn cheerleaders, Tiger Paws, Aubie, and the soccer and volleyball teams will be located in the practice court facility.

The upper concourse will be closed as will access to the main basketball floor.

Concessions and restrooms will be open for public use. The Auburn Ticket Office will be open to take orders for Auburn football and basketball tickets, and 2010 Auburn Football Media Guides will also be available for purchase during Fan Day.

Tuskegee-Texas Southern moved to Mobile

TUSKEGEE – The gridiron clash between the Tuskegee University Golden Tigers (SIAC) and the Texas Southern University Tigers (SWAC), originally scheduled for the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California, will be played in Mobile.

The City of Mobile and Tuskegee University recently reached an agreement for the two schools to meet on Saturday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at the 40,000-seat Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

The game will mark the third appearance for Tuskegee playing in Mobile.  The Golden Tigers defeated Alabama A&M University 19-6 in 1995 and lost to Shaw University, 30-28, in Pioneer Bowl VII in 2004 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

In the only other meeting between Tuskegee and Texas Southern, the TSU Tigers edged the TU Golden Tigers 10-7 in 1994 at Abbott Stadium in Tuskegee.  Last year, Coach Willie Slater led the Golden Tigers to a 10-2 (8-1 SIAC) record and captured his fourth consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.  Johnny Cole’s Tigers finished 2009 at 6-5 (5-2 SWAC West), finishing in third place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference West.

The game will serve as a home game for the Golden Tigers, giving Tuskegee six home dates.

Six players from the Mobile area will don the Tuskegee Crimson and Old Gold in 2010, including current senior quarterback Joshua Harris, junior offensive linemen Charlie Craige and Darold Whitfield of Blount High School, junior defensive end Christopher Williams and freshman wide receiver Prennis Watkins of LeFlore High School and freshman defensive back Marquel Gardner of Vigor High School.

Troy completes second week of practice

TROY - The Troy University Trojans completed their second week of training camp on Friday in preparation for a Sept. 4 season opener against Bowling Green.

The Trojans went through a two-hour practice on Friday afternoon with limited contact in preparation for Saturday morning’s scrimmage. The team will take to the field at Veterans Memorial Stadium at 10:30 a.m. for the second scrimmage of the fall camp.

Saturday’s scrimmage is open to the public.

“We are looking for performance, effort and improvement,” head coach Larry Blakeney said. “We want to see the performance of guys who are in battles for positions, and not just at quarterback. Across the board there are a lot of positions that are still up for grabs.

“There are jobs open on the offensive line, especially on the right side. The defensive line, especially the inside positions, is still in doubt.”

With numerous positions still up for grabs, Saturday’s scrimmage will go a long way toward determining who will take the field against Bowling Green in the opener.

“We want to see guys come out and play hard and play fast and show some improvement as a team on both sides of the ball,” Blakeney said. “Of course, what is good for one is not good for the other, and we expect it to be that way. Hopefully, we will see what we need to see to move forward as a team and get ready.”

Blakeney indicated that the Trojans would go through one more week of preseason camp work before turning their attention toward the Falcons and the season opener.

While there will be numerous positions up for grabs in the scrimmage, some players who have spots locked up will have a limited role on Saturday.

“I don’t think Jerrel (Jernigan) will do much in the scrimmage and we may hold our Xavier Lamb, maybe some others,” Blakeney said. “We don’t have enough depth on offense to go to threes a lot, so we’ll have to sub in a lot to get everyone in with the two’s and one’s. We’ll try to go 100 snaps or so.”

Camp Notes: Junior linebacker Donnell Golden will not take part in the scrimmage on Saturday. Golden will be in Valdosta, Ga., with his family for the funeral of his older brother John, who was killed late Monday night in a shooting. According to news reports, a suspect in the homicide was taken into custody on Wednesday.

Sophomore offensive lineman Kyle Wilborn will be out of action for two weeks after have arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Friday. The procedure was routine in nature and should not prevent Wilborn from being ready to open the season.

Blakeney announced on Friday that sophomore receiver Josh Jarboe has been dismissed from the program for violations of team rules. He will transfer to Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Miss., to play this year.