Monday, August 13, 2007

Southern University returns to work today

Photo: Southern wide receiver Gerard Landry is expected to be a big part of the team’s offense this season. Advocate staff photo by LIZ CONDO


Advocate staff report

With a week under the Southern University football team’s collective belt and the season opener creeping closer, the Jaguars can narrow their focus this week and incorporate the added challenge of a new school year.

SU heads back to work at 9 a.m. today with about 80 percent of preseason installation complete.

“We did some good work (last) week and saw some mental toughness from guys as they fought through the heat,” Jaguars coach Pete Richardson said Saturday. “Now that we’ve gone through and installed some things, we need to evaluate some tape and pinpoint what we’re doing well on both sides of the ball. Then we can take some things out and zero in on what we want to keep in the game plan.”

One person who will figure prominently in the SU offensive game plan no matter how much it’s tinkered with is senior receiver Gerard Landry.

The Convent native and Lutcher High graduate caught 55 passes for 727 yards and five touchdowns last season.

Regardless of how the Southern quarterback situation plays out, Landry figures to have the chance to match or improve those numbers in offensive coordinator Mark Orlando’s revamped offense.

“I like the new look because it gives us an opportunity to have more options,” Landry said. “The quarterback will be able to make more reads and then get the ball to guys who can make some plays.”


Work in progress

Last week’s blistering heat and a wave of pesky injuries have prevented the Southern coaches from getting too used to working with a full complement of offensive linemen.

But Richardson said there are some advantages to juggling lineups and shifting players this early in camp.

“We’ve been able to move a lot of people around and see where they might fit best,” Richardson said. “We want to get to the point where we’re a little more set up there, but right now it helps to know we’re getting a lot of different guys ready for different positions for whenever somebody goes down with an injury during the season. We’ll have some flexibility to move people around.”

This week

The Jaguars practice in the morning today before moving to afternoon workouts Tuesday and Wednesday. Classes start on Thursday.

“We need to get with the younger guys and let them know the books come first once classes start,” Landry said. “They have a lot to think about with football, but once school gets started, they need to learn how to balance their time.”

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