Washington, DC-The Howard University defense forced four turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown to highlight the Bison's first intra-squad scrimmage on Saturday in Greene Stadium.
The Howard offense was able to move the ball in spurts, but each time penalties or turnovers stopped drives.
"I thought the defense was dominant today," said first year head coach Carey Bailey. "It is not unusual for the defense to have an advantage this time of year, but I did not expect them to be that dominant."
Bailey singled out the play of the defensive line, led by All-American candidate Rudy Hardie, who spent much of the scrimmage chasing the quarterbacks out of the pocket, forcing errant throws that turned into interceptions and snuffing out runners behind the line of scrimmage. He got support from defensive end Jarrett Burgess and tackles Charlie Richards and James Robinson.
Freshman Timothy King and sophomore red-shirt Robert Parker stood out at linebacker with King returning a pass for a TD.
The secondary continued to play solid with veterans Thomas Claiborn, Ricky Jackson and Randell Means performing in mid-season form. But one of the more pleasant surprises of the pre-season has been the play of freshman Theodore Graham, IV, who picked off a pass and made several other sparkling plays.
"The back line of our defense is playing very well," noted Bailey. "Those guys are veterans back there and seem to be very comfortable. And Graham continues to improve each day."
Offensively, the bright spot of the day was the running of Frank Berchie and Terry Perry. Berchie scored one of the offense's three touchdowns on the day and keyed the longest drive of the day while Perry made some nice cuts and moves to bolster the running game.
Berchie has had an excellent camp," adds Bailey. "He is running hard, staying low, making good cuts and great decisions. I am very pleased with his performance."
Bailey however, was not pleased with the offense overall and left no doubt about what he will focus on next week.
"We will work on offense," he said. "We are making too many penalties and our execution is not there. We have a lot of work to do."
The Bison will continue two-a-day practices next week.
The Howard offense was able to move the ball in spurts, but each time penalties or turnovers stopped drives.
"I thought the defense was dominant today," said first year head coach Carey Bailey. "It is not unusual for the defense to have an advantage this time of year, but I did not expect them to be that dominant."
Bailey singled out the play of the defensive line, led by All-American candidate Rudy Hardie, who spent much of the scrimmage chasing the quarterbacks out of the pocket, forcing errant throws that turned into interceptions and snuffing out runners behind the line of scrimmage. He got support from defensive end Jarrett Burgess and tackles Charlie Richards and James Robinson.
Freshman Timothy King and sophomore red-shirt Robert Parker stood out at linebacker with King returning a pass for a TD.
The secondary continued to play solid with veterans Thomas Claiborn, Ricky Jackson and Randell Means performing in mid-season form. But one of the more pleasant surprises of the pre-season has been the play of freshman Theodore Graham, IV, who picked off a pass and made several other sparkling plays.
"The back line of our defense is playing very well," noted Bailey. "Those guys are veterans back there and seem to be very comfortable. And Graham continues to improve each day."
Offensively, the bright spot of the day was the running of Frank Berchie and Terry Perry. Berchie scored one of the offense's three touchdowns on the day and keyed the longest drive of the day while Perry made some nice cuts and moves to bolster the running game.
Berchie has had an excellent camp," adds Bailey. "He is running hard, staying low, making good cuts and great decisions. I am very pleased with his performance."
Bailey however, was not pleased with the offense overall and left no doubt about what he will focus on next week.
"We will work on offense," he said. "We are making too many penalties and our execution is not there. We have a lot of work to do."
The Bison will continue two-a-day practices next week.
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