Week One Notes
Jacobs, defense shine in Faulkner's first scrimmage
Wide receiver Don Hill goes up for a 28-yard catch in Satruday's scrimmage
August 8
Redshirt freshman T.J. Jacobs inched in front in the quarterback race, and the Eagles' defense dominated most of the day in Faulkner's first scrimmage of fall practice Saturday morning at Robert. E. Lee High School.
Jacobs tossed a pair of long touchdown passes - the only two scores the offense could muster during the 75-play scrimmage. One came on a swing pass to junior wideout Jurell Williams, who dashed his way down the sideline 80 yards for the score, while the other came on a perfect 75-yard strike to junior Willie Clark. Two other quarterbacks, redshirt freshman transfer Trey Martin and junior college transfer Royce Hughes, both had solid days as well. The three worked mostly with the first and second team offenses, while Joe Scott and Eric Vickers took most of the snaps with the third unit.
Wide receiver Willie Clark scores on this bomb from TJ Jacobs
"I saw some good flashes with the quarterbacks, and T.J. may be a little out front right now,'' said head coach Gregg Baker, who because of recent knee surgery watched the scrimmage from a golf cart behind the action. "But it was pretty obvious that our defense is ahead right now. I was pleased with the aggressiveness of those guys. We won't that to be part of our personality as a team.''
Jurell Williams snags a pass over the middle for the offense
The defense, under the direction of new coordinator Duane McWhorter, caused five turnovers on the day, intercepting four passes and causing one fumble. Anthony Haywood, a returnee in the secondary, intercepted a pass and recovered the fumble, which he would have returned for a touchdown had whistles not blown the continuance of the play dead. Arin Roby, Manuel Godfrey and Justin Gomez also had interceptions.
Offensive coordinator Corey Fipps gives instruction to the players during a break
Linebacker Zach Riggins lays out an unsuspecting reciver
"I was really pleased with how our guys ran to the football,'' said McWhorter, the former Jeff Davis head coach in his first year at Faulkner. "We tipped a lot of passes that resulted in interceptions because of great effort. But what bothered me today were the two big plays. That's what killed this team last year, and we have to find a way to change that this year.''
Linebackers Sean Thom and Zach Riggins turned in two of the biggest hits of the day, bringing loud cheers from coaches and teammates alike. On offense, sophomore transfer running back Deshaun Edwards turned in a good performance carrying the football. New offensive coordinator Corey Fipps, despite the mistakes, still is excited about the prospects for offensive production this fall.
Quarterback Trey Martin rifles a pass to the outside during the contest
Jared Corder boots a ball deep on special teams to close out the scrimmage
"The defense is ahead, which is typical for this time of year,'' Fipps said. "But I feel really good about how our quarterbacks are grasping this offense in the early going and I'm excited about our wide receivers' ability to make plays. I think our guys up front are smart and are going to continue to improve. The thing that excites me the most, however, is the character of the guys on this team. That, and the way these guys are coming together as a team, will be the primary reasons we're successful.''
Faulkner opens its season Aug. 29 against Webber International University at 1:30 p.m. in Orlando, Fla.
Faulkner set for Saturday scrimmage
August 6
Head coach Gregg Baker and his Faulkner football team will complete their first week of fall practice Saturday morning with a 75-play scrimmage at Robert E. Lee High School.
The scrimmage is set to start at 9 and the public is invited to attend.
With the opener of the program’s third season of intercollegiate competition only three weeks away, Baker feels the scrimmage will begin to provide some much-needed answers to personnel questions.
“We’re going to script most of the scrimmage, because we really want to see how some of these guys compete at certain positions,” said Baker, who is in his first season as the Eagles’ head coach. “We do have a lot of decisions to make, and sometimes you don’t get a true feel for things in drill work. You need to get them in game-like situations to see how they respond, react and compete.
“All of us – coaches and players – are excited about Saturday morning.”
One of the positions Baker and his staff will keep a keen eye on is at quarterback, where five players are competing for the starting job. Only redshirt freshman T.J. Jacobs has been with the program prior to the start of fall practice. The other quarterback candidates are redshirt freshman transfer Trey Martin, freshman Joe Scott, freshman Eric Vickers, and junior college transfer Royce Hughes.
“We hope all five guys get an equal look Saturday,” Baker said. “It’s important that someone starts to separate themselves fairly quickly.”
Baker added that he’s pleased with the team’s first week of work, especially the attitude his players have displayed.
“I really feel like we’re where we need to be at this point,” he said. “We were a little sluggish in the heat Thursday, but we bounced back on Friday. We have a lot of positions that are a long way from being decided, and I know the competition at those places will do nothing but make us better.”
Faulkner opens its season on Aug. 29 in Orlando, Fla., against Webber International University. Kickoff is set for 1:30 p.m.
Faulkner already showing improvement
August 5
Faulkner head coach Gregg Baker was pleased with what he saw from his Eagles on their first day in full pads.
"We were a little rusty, but all-in-all, I thought the guys really got after it,'' said the first-year head coach as his team readies for its third season of intercollegiate competition. "You always get a little better look when you put the pads on. I thought the defense really moved to the ball well. The offense probably wasn't at the pace we wanted it, but you can expect that on the first day of pads.''
Baker liked what he saw out of outside linebacker Brandon McKenzie, a junior college transfer and inside linebacker Sean Thom, as well as defensive linemen Willie Mixon and Ty Hardnett. Offensively, quarterback T.J. Jacobs had a good day running the football, according to Baker. All five quarterbacks vying for the starting job looked good in the short passing game, he said. Wideout Kyle McDowell, a transfer from Western Michigan, also caught the eye of the coaches.
"He had a great day catching the ball,'' Baker said.
Faulkner will go in full pads again tomorrow then taper off a bit on Friday, preparing for its first scrimmage of the fall Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Robert E. Lee High School. The scrimmage is open to the public.
"That's when we'll really start getting some questions answered,'' Baker said. "We'll be able to begin making some personnel decisions and really be able to assess where we are after the first week.
Faulkner opens its season Aug. 29 in Orlando against Webber College.
Eagles enter day two of practice
August 4
Faulkner battled the heat and humidity in shorts and helmets Tuesday afternoon and continued to concentrate on fundamentals and special teams, according to head coach Gregg Baker.
“We had another good day of work,’’ said Baker, whose Eagles open their regular season Aug. 29 in Orlando against Webber College. “I’ve been very pleased with the concentration level, especially that of the our quarterbacks and receivers. I think we’ve had two of the best ‘pitch and catch’ days I’ve seen around here in awhile.’’
Five quarterbacks - redshirt freshman transfer Trey Martin, redshirt freshman T.J. Jacobs, freshman Joe Scott, freshman Eric Vickers, and junior college transfer Royce Hughes – are all vying for the starting job. Only Jacobs, who played well in Faulkner’s spring game, is not new to the system.
“I’m telling you it’s wide open right now,’’ Baker said. “I’ve been real proud of all of them.”
Baker said he and his staff would spend the next two weeks narrowing the possibilities down to three, and then would name a starter and a back-up two weeks before the opener.
“We want to have time to move some of these guys to different positions, if we can,’’ he said. “We have a very athletic group there, and we need to find a way to get them on the field.’’
The Eagles used part of their two-hour practice working on special teams, something Baker says will happen each and every day.”
“It’s a third of the game, and we’ll at least work on punt and punt return every single day we practice,” he said.
On defense, Baker praised the early work of a pair of linebackers – senior Sean Thom and redshirt freshman Bobby English.
Faulkner will practice twice Wednesday, with things beginning to intensify. The Eagles will go out in helmets and shoulder pads at 7:30 a.m. for a two-hour workout, and then return at 3:30 in the afternoon for their first practice in full pads.
Faulkner’s first scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday morning at 9 at Robert E. Lee High School. The scrimmage is open to the public.
Faulkner holds first practice
Trey Martin is one of five quarterbacks looking to lead the Eagles' offense in the 2009 season
August 3
When Gregg Baker pulled through the gates at Faulkner University on Monday, he had butterflies in his stomach.
The first-year head coach was about to conduct his first practice, and he was suf fering from a strange combination of nerves and excitement.
"My stomach did a couple of flips," Baker said Monday afternoon, in between the Eagles' 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. two-a-day practices. "I never imagined this (when I accepted an assistant's position at Faulkn er last year).
"Five years ago, I was the offensive line coach at Prattville High School, and I thought I'd hit the big time then. This here is just unbelievable to me. When I came through that gate this morning, I thought, 'I'm about to hold my first practice.' I can't describe that feeling."
After the initial weird feelings, though, the day went about like Baker expected.
The coaching staff wasted no time, as it went about installing new special teams formations and implementing new offen sive and defensive schemes.
New defensive coordinator Duane McWhorter, the former Jeff Davis High School head coach, began teaching his phi losophies to the players, and a five-way battle for the starting quarterback posi tion got under way.
"Honestly, it was just a regular day," Baker said. "It wasn't much different from the practices last year. The coaches had everything very well organized and the players were ready to work. I couldn't have asked for more."
Monday's primary objective for the coaches was to evaluate the players and get some sense of where things stand at various positions. That theme will be car ried out throughout the week, as the staff gets a handle on the talents of the new players.
"We've got a lot of good athletes that are new in the program and we're looking to see how all the pieces fit together," Baker said. "That will be the goal over the next couple of weeks (of camp). We've got our work cut out for us there -- there will be some good battles at some spots."
No spot will be more contested than quarterback.
As practice began Monday morning, five players -- two returning players, a junior college transfer and two incoming freshmen -- were vying for the starter's job.
And Baker said there was no favorite.
"It's a good, good battle for that spot that's probably going to go down to the week before that first game," he said. "I consider that a good problem to have -- having five guys qualified for the job. These are five pretty good QBs."
Faulkner will practice twice again to day, Wednesday and Friday, once on Thurs day and will hold its first scrimmage of the fall on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Robert E. Lee High School.