Aug. 29, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite an early afternoon rain storm and the oncoming effects of Hurricane Katrina, the Samford University football team practiced in shorts and shells on the new LSR Blade Synthetic turf at Seibert Stadium on Monday.

The state-of-the-art drainage system which was installed underneath the playing surface this summer allowed the team to hold a primary portion of practice on the turf. The weather did limit the passing game slightly due to wind gusts as high as 29 mph.

"We were able to get a lot more work done on the field today than we usually would've gotten," said Samford head coach Bill Gray. "The surface really paid off and we were able to jump out there and get some good plays in between heavy showers. We were able to move around well and our footing was good, so this surface is definitely going to be to our advantage"

Samford spent a predominant part of Monday's workout concentrating on the play of the offensive line. The Bulldogs' front five will be a key group for Samford's success on Thursday against a physical Edward Waters College defensive line.

"On the offensive side of the ball, how well our three less experienced linemen play will determine how balanced we can be out there," Gray said. "Graham Lemmond at center, Tommy Smith at guard and Colby Hooper at right tackle have all put in good workouts this fall and now we need them to continue their good play against Edward Waters."

Defensively, the coaching staff is excited about the depth that it has across the board.

"The biggest comfort that I have going into this first game is that we have some depth on the defensive side of the ball that we haven't had in the past," said Gray. "The drop off between our ones and twos is not nearly as big as it has been recently. We've been running to the football a lot more and I'm anxious to see both Clyde Triplett and Haris Kovacevic get off on the right foot this season."

With Hurricane Katrina battering the Gulf Coast on Monday, several of Samford's coaches and players used practice as an escape from worrying about friends and family members from back home.

Brad Booth (Baton Rouge, La.), J.T. Washington (Mobile, Ala.), Cortland Finnegan (Milton, Fla.), Jermaine Livingston (Mobile, Ala.) and T.C. Myers (Pace, Fla.) all hail from hometowns that were affected by the storm.

"We have a lot people on this team with relatives up here in town and we definitely took time before practice today to talk about the guys that are affected by this hurricane in some way," Gray said. "We hope that everyone remains safe and that they can return home quickly and that their homes did not sustain much damage."

The weather forecast is calling for clear and sunny skies on Thursday as the Samford University football team kicks off its 2005 season at home in Seibert Stadium against the Edward Waters College Tigers at 7 p.m.