By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
Yet another reminder of how thin Southern’s offensive line is came Wednesday, with sophomore center Ramon Chinyoung missing his second practice this week and backup sophomore center Daniel Stephens out with an ear infection.
That moved senior Demarcus Stewart to center, with redshirt freshman Rodrell Stewart taking his spot at right guard. The eye-popping part was, junior long snapper Demarcus Turner got some tries at center during drills.
That move didn’t last, however, as SU coach Pete Richardson pulled Turner before he could make a snap when the offense and defense converged for team-on-team drills at the end of practice. Instead, Richardson insisted on junior Myles Williams, the No. 1 right tackle, to take the snaps.
Turner, who is only 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds and has suffered knee injuries in each of his first two seasons, is too valuable as a long snapper on punts and field-goal tries.
“We can’t do that,” Richardson said. “We can’t get him hurt. Then, we’d be without a long snapper.”
Chinyoung, along with two linemen who remain out, sophomore tackle Allen Buckner and redshirt freshman Joshua Keelen, may not play this season.
Plus, true freshman guard Brian Bridges (6-6, 350) missed his first practice Wednesday and won’t go back until Southern gets the OK from the NCAA Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse has yet to render a decision on Bridges, Richardson said, and the school had been taking advantage of a grace period that allowed him to report and practice.
As it was, junior Frank Harry moved from defensive tackle to guard on offense this week. And earlier in preseason camp, senior tight end Trent Thomas moved to left tackle (with junior tackle Rafael Louis moving to left guard).
Richardson said Stephens could be out another day or so.
One piece of good news is, after a week back in preseason camp, junior left tackle Ruben Oliver is progressing. Oliver had missed the early stages of camp while completing a summer internship.
“He’s coming along fine,” Richardson said. “He’s doing some extra running on his own, after practice. It’s just a matter of him getting in condition, because he was on that internship. He has to get some of that weight off.”
Richardson said both Thomas and Oliver will both play at left tackle and that Oliver is also being cross-trained at guard.
Meanwhile, the defensive line has been equally hurt by attrition. True freshman tackle Calvin Cunningham (shoulder) was examined by a doctor Wednesday, Richardson said.
With Cunningham out and Harry on offense, those were the only backups at tackle (without moving an end inside) and their absences leave the defensive line with eight players on the roster.
Fan Day
Southern will have its Fan Day at the conclusion of practice, around 11 a.m. Saturday.
According to a news release, the school’s Human Jukebox marching band along with the cheerleaders will be on hand.
Fans can get autographs during the event. Season ticket books will also be on sale.
Special work
Southern has been intensifying its work on special teams all week, and that focus reached a peak Wednesday, with the team spending four of its 11 10-minute periods on all three phases (field goals and PATs, punts and kickoffs).
“We’re still inconsistent, because we’ve got some people with late classes,” Richardson said. “We have to go back over it again (today) and make sure we’ve got the right people on.”
Notes
SU will scrimmage tonight, with some work concentrating on game-day management. &hellip Senior wide receiver Gerard Landry had oral surgery Tuesday and will be held out another day or longer, Richardson said. &hellip Senior strong safety Glenn Bell missed practice after having a vision test earlier in the day. &hellip Sophomore K/P Willie Joseph (hamstring) has been out since Saturday.
Yet another reminder of how thin Southern’s offensive line is came Wednesday, with sophomore center Ramon Chinyoung missing his second practice this week and backup sophomore center Daniel Stephens out with an ear infection.
That moved senior Demarcus Stewart to center, with redshirt freshman Rodrell Stewart taking his spot at right guard. The eye-popping part was, junior long snapper Demarcus Turner got some tries at center during drills.
That move didn’t last, however, as SU coach Pete Richardson pulled Turner before he could make a snap when the offense and defense converged for team-on-team drills at the end of practice. Instead, Richardson insisted on junior Myles Williams, the No. 1 right tackle, to take the snaps.
Turner, who is only 5-foot-9 and 220 pounds and has suffered knee injuries in each of his first two seasons, is too valuable as a long snapper on punts and field-goal tries.
“We can’t do that,” Richardson said. “We can’t get him hurt. Then, we’d be without a long snapper.”
Chinyoung, along with two linemen who remain out, sophomore tackle Allen Buckner and redshirt freshman Joshua Keelen, may not play this season.
Plus, true freshman guard Brian Bridges (6-6, 350) missed his first practice Wednesday and won’t go back until Southern gets the OK from the NCAA Clearinghouse. The Clearinghouse has yet to render a decision on Bridges, Richardson said, and the school had been taking advantage of a grace period that allowed him to report and practice.
As it was, junior Frank Harry moved from defensive tackle to guard on offense this week. And earlier in preseason camp, senior tight end Trent Thomas moved to left tackle (with junior tackle Rafael Louis moving to left guard).
Richardson said Stephens could be out another day or so.
One piece of good news is, after a week back in preseason camp, junior left tackle Ruben Oliver is progressing. Oliver had missed the early stages of camp while completing a summer internship.
“He’s coming along fine,” Richardson said. “He’s doing some extra running on his own, after practice. It’s just a matter of him getting in condition, because he was on that internship. He has to get some of that weight off.”
Richardson said both Thomas and Oliver will both play at left tackle and that Oliver is also being cross-trained at guard.
Meanwhile, the defensive line has been equally hurt by attrition. True freshman tackle Calvin Cunningham (shoulder) was examined by a doctor Wednesday, Richardson said.
With Cunningham out and Harry on offense, those were the only backups at tackle (without moving an end inside) and their absences leave the defensive line with eight players on the roster.
Fan Day
Southern will have its Fan Day at the conclusion of practice, around 11 a.m. Saturday.
According to a news release, the school’s Human Jukebox marching band along with the cheerleaders will be on hand.
Fans can get autographs during the event. Season ticket books will also be on sale.
Special work
Southern has been intensifying its work on special teams all week, and that focus reached a peak Wednesday, with the team spending four of its 11 10-minute periods on all three phases (field goals and PATs, punts and kickoffs).
“We’re still inconsistent, because we’ve got some people with late classes,” Richardson said. “We have to go back over it again (today) and make sure we’ve got the right people on.”
Notes
SU will scrimmage tonight, with some work concentrating on game-day management. &hellip Senior wide receiver Gerard Landry had oral surgery Tuesday and will be held out another day or longer, Richardson said. &hellip Senior strong safety Glenn Bell missed practice after having a vision test earlier in the day. &hellip Sophomore K/P Willie Joseph (hamstring) has been out since Saturday.
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