March 8, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University football team worked out for approximately two hours on Tuesday as the Bulldogs continued their spring drills by holding a spirited practice at Seibert Stadium.

"Practice went well today," said Samford head coach Bill Gray. "We had a lot to work on from our scrimmage on Saturday and the biggest thing that I wanted to see was effort. We didn't get that from everybody on Saturday, so that was the mantra for today's practice. We wanted the players to know that we are going to practice hard no matter if it's August, October or March."

In its fifth practice of the 2005 spring season, Samford continued implementing its defensive strategy and incorporating its offensive plays. The Bulldogs had over 60 players work out on Tuesday and the competition for a number of key positions was well underway.

"We obviously have to try to find a quarterback," Gray said. "That's a key spot for us and we have four guys right now that aren't separating themselves. I don't know that they need to be separated at this point in time, but before we finish the spring someone needs to rise up."

"We also have some guys competing for spots up front, both on the offense and defense sides of the ball, and we need to get some consistent play from them. That's what the spring is all about and we have some good competitions going on there."

Samford also continued to work on both individual and team drills on Tuesday under sunny skies and a brisk wind at Seibert Stadium. 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.

"I think that we practiced with some good intensity today, but that was something that we have really been stressing," said Gray. "As a football team, that is what we need to work on the most, because we know that we won't have the most talented team on the field. We need to make sure that we work hard and play dedicated football on every down."

The Samford University football team will practice again at 3:45 p.m., on both Wednesday and Friday of this week before holding its second scrimmage of the spring season on Saturday at 9 a.m. The scrimmage will be held at the Samford practice fields and is open to the public.