Aug. 26, 2004

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University football team held its final full practice of the week on Thursday as the Bulldogs continued their preparation for Saturday's season-opening contest against West Alabama under cloudy skies at the Samford Practice Facility. The in-state matchup, which will be held at Seibert Stadium at 6 p.m., is the only Division I college football game scheduled to be played in the state of Alabama on Aug. 28. "The guys are anxious and ready to run down that hill on Saturday night and we're ready to go," said Samford head coach Bill Gray. "The players are ready to get out there and play and when they walk by the stadium and see paint on the field, then they know the time is here. I'm sure that they'll go out and give a good effort, but we have to make sure that we limit our mistakes." Samford practiced for nearly two hours on Thursday and continued to work on both individual and team drills. For a predominant portion of the workout, the Bulldogs remained in their position groups before combining to form a full compliment of both offensive and defensive team units. The final few periods of Thursday's practice were spent in a live scrimmage with both the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense working on game-type situations. "We just did a lot of polishing up on some things today," Gray said. "At this point, you hope that you have already covered everything and today was more of a mental day than anything else. We were on and off the field fairly quickly and we feel like we've had the necessary preparation. Hopefully, we'll go out and play a game that we can be proud of." In its final workout before Saturday's game, Samford is scheduled to hold a typical walk-through practice on Friday in Seibert Stadium beginning at 4:15 p.m. During the walk-through, the team is expected to focus on more of the mental aspects of the upcoming game. "Tomorrow, we'll basically just go through our pre-game routine and double-check our depth chart one more time," said Gray. "We'll also focus a lot on special teams and just make sure that everyone knows where they are supposed to be. Then, we'll go out and eat as a team and get a good night's rest before we go on Saturday." Samford is scheduled to open its 2004 season on Saturday as the Bulldogs square off against the West Alabama Tigers at 6 p.m., at Seibert Stadium. The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or via the internet at www.samfordsports.com.