Thursday, August 9, 2007
Camp Bentley: Day Four
CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian College completed its fourth day of football training camp on Wednesday evening on its four practice fields on the PC campus.
The Blue Hose were for the third consecutive day forced to practice at night by the extreme heat. PC’s original plan was to practice at 4 p.m., but instead practiced from 7-9:30.
Bentley was once again impressed with PC’s performance on the gridiron, but noted that, “fighting through the heat is starting to take its toll.”
The Blue Hose will return their practice to the afternoon on Friday when they participate in their fifth practice of training camp at 4 p.m. PC will be donning full pads for the first time in Friday’s practice.
All PC practices are open to the public.
Noting Camp Bentley…
INJURY REPORT: The heat is not the only thing that has been taking a toll on the Blue Hose as injuries, particularly on the offensive side of the football, have made a huge impact on Blue Hose practices thus far. The Blue Hose may have returned four of five starting lineman this fall, but two of those four have yet to see action in the preseason in seniors Jeffrey Hallen (Walton, Ga.) and Joey Orck (Columbia, S.C.). Returning starting quarterback Grayson Mullins (Columbia, S.C.) has also missed most of the team’s first four practices due to injury, while wide receiver Larry Thomas (Orangeburg, S.C.) and freshman running back Mario Carter (Columbia, S.C.) have battled injuries almost from the outset of preseason camp.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It has been really frustrating trying to do what we want to do with all the injuries we have been facing so far. There is an upside to these injuries though as our freshman have been receiving a great deal more practice time.”
Bentley on the bright side of all the injuries the Blue Hose are facing
GETTING DEFENSIVE: New PC defensive coordinator Julius Dixon has overall been very pleased with the effort given by the defense during the first three days of practice saying that, “we are definitely going to be able to do some things this year if our players continue to play with passion.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY, PART TWO: “Overall, I have been extremely pleased with the effort of our defense. At this point in time, the only problem that we are having is that we have one group that we can be very aggressive with and another that as a staff we have to watch over a little more. It is making it a little harder on us as coaches, but we are beginning to make progress.”
Dixon on some of the good and bad that the new defensive coaching staff is facing after four days of preseason practice
UPPER LEVEL: Dixon also remarked how pleased he has been with how the upperclassmen on the defense have taken it upon themselves to become extra coaches on the field.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT PRACTICE: Coach Bentley and his coaching staff are doing their best to continue to implement their training and conditioning during practice. The Blue Hose are going all out on every thing that they do, but as Bentley said after practice earlier this week, “they still need to focus on practicing at a shorter, more energetic pace.”
STARS OF THE DAY: Dixon said just before practice on Thursday that there have been a number of players that have caught his eye during the first few days of practice, but a couple have been exceptional. Dixon specifically mentioned Ty Osborne (Lexington, S.C.) in the secondary, saying that, “Ty is really starting to get our system and make the transition. After the spring he probably thought he might not have a spot on our team, but he has really worked hard and come in to camp ready to play. As a coach it makes you feel really good because he has not just improved, but bought into our system.” Dixon also made it a point to make sure that he singled out Cliff Evans (Winnsboro, S.C.) on Thursday, musing that “Cliff has been doing a great job so far. It is almost night and day from spring to now.”
DAY-BY-DAY: The Blue Hose will practice 21 more times before beginning their first week of game preparation on Monday, Aug. 27. In total, PC will have 25 more practices before taking the gridiron against Furman at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1 at Paladin Stadium.