Sept. 25, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Samford football team practiced for a little over an hour in shorts and helmets Thursday afternoon at Seibert Stadium. The Bulldogs are preparing for Saturday's Southern Conference opener at No. 8 Elon.

"I thought we had a good day, we just went out for an hour in shorts today," Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said. "We went through our final checklist, trying to cover all of our situations. We had a good day and now it is time to go find out where we are in the conference."

Elon (3-1, 1-0 SoCon) is led by quarterback Scott Riddle, who currently leads the SoCon in passing (287.0 ypg.) and total offense (274.2 ypg.). Phoenix wide receiver Terrell Hudgins leads the league in receptions per game (10.0 rpg.) and receiving yards per game (123.8 ypg.).

Samford (2-1, 0-0 SoCon) sophomore running back Chris Evans is the leading rusher in the conference, averaging 98.3 yards per game. Freshman wide receiver Riley Hawkins tops the SoCon in kick return average at 30.2 yards per return.

Thursday's practice was Samford's final full practice before Saturday's game. Sullivan said he has been pleased with the team's work for the entire week.

"We had a good week," Sullivan said. "It is never perfect, but we had a good week."

Samford will depart for Elon, N.C. Friday at 7:45 a.m. The Bulldogs will have a walk-through at Elon's Rhodes Stadium at 1:30 p.m. Central on Friday.

Saturday's game at Elon is scheduled for a 12:30 p.m. Central kickoff from Rhodes Stadium. The game can be heard live on the Samford Football Radio Network. The flagship station for the network is WVSU-FM 91.1. The game can also be heard worldwide on the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu/