By THOMAS GRANT JR., T&D Senior Sports Writer
Cutting short the final scrimmage of training camp was not an option Thursday for South Carolina State head football coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough.
Neither, apparently was profusely perspiring through his gray South Carolina State sweatshirt. Despite another day of brutally hot temperatures, Pough’s upper torso remained virtually sweat-free following the Bulldogs’ two-hour scrimmage at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium.
While joking the lack of perspiration showed his toughness, Pough was serious about getting his players already battling through injuries and physical limitations caused by the torrid conditions to "tough it out."
"I wanted to push them as hard as we could under the circumstances it was hot enough still that we had to be somewhat concerned about the temperatures," Pough said. "But, I wanted to take them as far as I could take them.
"It was some situational kinds of things that we got done and I was glad that we made it through it mostly in one piece."
The Bulldogs went through various game scenarios during the 100-play scrimmage in preparation for the Sept. 1 season opener against Air Force. The defense dominated for the most part in allowing just one touchdown on a short run by running back Troy "Jo Jo" McFadden and scoring off a fumble recovery by converted defensive back and Orangeburg-Wilkinson graduate Russell Hemby.
Making things even more difficult for quarterbacks Cleveland McCoy and freshman DeWaine Clark, who took turns in running the offense as Malcolm Long rested his sore throwing arm, was the rash of injuries in the wide receiving corps. While newcomer Chase Robinson is out until mid-season with a broken foot, the availability of Terrance Smith and backup Phillip Morris (both with pulled hamstrings) for the Sept. 1 opener against Air Force, who sat out Thursday’s scrimmage, remains up in the air.
"It’s a big concern and we don’t know exactly what we can do to get enough guys healthy at that position to have enough people to make it through a game," said Pough about the wide receivers "But, we do have some problems there and we’ve got to really get in there and work hard to get ourselves ready to go this week,"
Heat cramps also took a toll on wide receiver Oliver "Trey" Young, although he remained in action. Meanwhile, SCSU running back Will Ford was still nursing his left hamstring following a 60-yard run.
Other injuries of note included offensive tackle Nygel Pearson (bruised hand) and defensive lineman Keyon Brooks (elbow).
"We’ve got some injuries that’s kind of slowed us down some," he said. "We played so much better today on defense, too. So, that’s an encouraging sign because the last thing I want is for us to have someone run through our defense like we’re not there."
A major bright spot for SCSU during the scrimmage was place-kicker Stephen Grantham. The Florence native, who sat out last season, connected on all four field goal attempts with his longest coming from 42 yards.
"We think he ought to be good inside 50 yards because of the fact the ball will travel better there than it does here," Pough said. "So hopefully, he’ll go out there and be a heck of a weapon for us."
The quick progress of true freshmen such as offensive lineman Josh Harrison and Johnny Culbreath and redshirt defensive lineman Steve Jacobs, Sterling Blunt and Sam Chester has also been encouraging for Pough. He believes the Bulldogs need to go three-deep at defensive line in order to have enough fresh players to continuously rotate against Air Force.
SCSU will hold a 4:30 p.m. practice today where it will begin game preparation and strategy planning for the Falcons.
No comments:
Post a Comment