Aug. 15, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team held a pair of brisk, spirited practices Friday at Seibert Stadium as the Bulldogs continued their preparations for Saturday's full-contact scrimmage. Samford worked out for approximately two hours in the morning and then held an hour-long session in the afternoon.

The Bulldogs will conduct their second major scrimmage of the fall season at 8:30 a.m., Saturday. Fans are welcome to attend the workout to be held at Seibert Stadium.

"The players have been working really hard all this week and we're actually kind of a tired football team right now," said Samford head coach Pat Sullivan. "That's why we only practiced a little over an hour this afternoon because we are going to try to get one more really good scrimmage in tomorrow. I anticipate us working through about 100 plays and then we'll have Sunday off for the players to get rested up."

In Friday's morning session, the Bulldogs practiced in shorts and shells, and spent most of the time in both team and individual drills.

During the upbeat two-hour workout, Samford continued to implement both its defensive and offensive strategies for the upcoming season. The team also worked on incorporating its special teams systems and ran through some three-quarter speed, 11-on-11 drills.

For a predominant portion of the morning workout, the Bulldogs remained in their position groups before combining to form a full compliment of both offensive and defensive team units.

"I don't think there's any question that we are much, much further along this season than we were last year," said Sullivan. "I mean, it's not even close, but are we where we want to be to contend for a championship? Probably not at this moment, but I like this football team and if we can stay injury-free for these last few days then I think we can be the best we can be."

During the afternoon practice, a majority of the Bulldogs' emphasis was placed on special teams and situational down and distance.

Following Samford's final practice of the week, Sullivan highlighted some of the players that have shined during two-a-days.

"I really thought that Riley Hawkins had a good week and a great first scrimmage," said Sullivan. "John Paul Fraites, our kicker, has also really done a good job for us, but right now we're looking forward to tomorrow's scrimmage and seeing who will stand out for us then."

The Bulldogs will hold their second full-contact scrimmage of the fall season Saturday at 8:30 a.m. The estimated 100-play workout will be held at Seibert Stadium and fans are welcome to attend.

"We have a very young football team this season and we're going to have to play a lot of guys," Sullivan said. "We have a lot of competitions going on for starting positions right now and tomorrow's scrimmage will be a great time for us to evaluate our players. I think that competition is a good thing and we'll be able to see who's capable of stepping up in crunch time."

The Samford football team will begin its 2008 schedule Aug. 28, at 7 p.m., as the Bulldogs welcome West Georgia to Birmingham for each team's season-opener.