Sept. 22, 2005

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford University football team held an hour-and-a-half workout at Seibert Stadium on Thursday as the Bulldogs used its final home practice of the week to finalize its game plan for Saturday's Ohio Valley Conference opener at Eastern Illinois.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., at EIU's O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Ill.

"We spent today polishing up on some things in our game plan," said Samford head coach Bill Gray. "We know that we are going to have five-straight days of hard work ahead of us, so we took this opportunity to go over a lot of the mental aspects of the game."

Samford (1-2) will compete in its third-straight road contest on Saturday and will attempt to win its conference-opener for the second time in three years.

In 2002, which was the Bulldogs' inaugural season in the OVC, Samford defeated Tennessee-Martin, 41-10, at home and then knocked off Southeast Missouri, 41-31, in its 2003 conference-opener. Last season, the Bulldogs fell to SEMO, 51-48, in a four-overtime heartbreaker in Cape Girardeau, Mo.

On Thursday, Samford practiced in shorts and shells and worked primarily in its offensive and defensive units. The Bulldogs also worked extensively on special teams, individual groups and then concluded practice with a brief non-contact scrimmage.

"We've made some mistakes in our special teams during the first three games and we're continuing to work them," Gray said. "We took a couple of young men out of redshirts this week and we're going to put them on special teams. With two new bodies out there, we're hoping that they can create a little bit of a spark for us."

True freshmen Luke Landers and Quinton Smith each practiced with the team as usual this week, but have been given the okay from Coach Gray to play in Saturday's game.

Landers, a running back from Nashville, Tenn., and Smith, a defensive back from Huntsville, Ala., were each initially tabbed to redshirt this season. Each player came to Samford as a highly-touted high school recruit and should add needed depth to the special teams.

"We're going to take the redshirt off of those guys and let them play," said Gray. "They have done a great job in practice for us this year and if they can help us to win football games right now, then that's what we're going to do."

The Samford University football team will begin OVC play on Saturday as the Bulldogs challenge the Eastern Illinois Panthers in a conference-opening contest scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m., in Charleston, Ill.

The game can be heard locally on WVSU-FM 91.1, or worldwide via the internet at either www.samfordsports.com or www.al.com/wvsu.