Aug. 19, 2000
Josh Kellett threw two touchdown passes and Gary Reed scored twice during Samford's two-hour scrimmage Saturday morning at Seibert Stadium.
Kellett finished 10 of 18 for 153 yards passing and two touchdowns, one a 23-yarder to Reed and the other a 50-yard strike to senior wideout Jon Pointer. Reed also added a 70-yard touchdown scamper and finished with 116 yards of total offense.
"The biggest thing today was to try and get as close to game simulation as possible," said head coach Pete Hurt. "Offensively, the biggest thing that stood out was the fact that we turned the football over way too many times. That's not to take anything away from the defense because they did cause a couple, but we just have to do a better job of protecting the football.
"I don't think that any of our players are as mentally tough as they need to be when the season starts, and we'll need some improvement on playing every play with the same effort. But on the flip side, we did make some big plays on offense. Overall I am pleased with this week's work, and I thought today was great for us. "
Along with Kellett, redshirt freshman Thomas Brown showed flashes of his ability, completing six of 13 passes for 60 yards and rushing for another 35 yards. The Bulldogs totaled more than 500 yards of total offense.
Samford coaches also got a good look at their young defensive players, as the scrimmage was designed to pit the second-team defense against the Bulldogs' first-team offense. Hurt also worked his team in short yardage situations,
"This was a great chance for our young guys to go up against the best of our offense," Hurt said. "It was good to see the young guys get some playing time, because in practice we only get two-deep. This gives them a better picture of what college football is really like."
Samford continues the search for a place kicker, which was one point of emphasis for the Bulldogs on Saturday. Vestavia's Ty Neil and transfer Chip Walters are the frontrunners through Saturday's practice.
"We got some good work on field goals and extra points today, which was one point of emphasis for us," Hurt added. Plus, we wanted to see how Jonathan Brunson would do in live action. We got some god work out of all of those guys today."
Several of the Bulldogs' top players did not participate in today's scrimmage, including tailback Rashad Brewer, receiver Aryvia Holmes and linebacker Jason Long. Brewer and Holmes are recovering from injuries, and Long was taking an entrance exam for medical school.
