WSSU Notebook: $5 million field house and new practice facility will be ready for next season

COMPILED BY JOHN DELL, Winston Salem Journal

• The Rams have 11 seniors on the roster, but Blount wishes they could stay with the team for one more year.

Next season, the Rams will have full access to a $5 million field house being built near Bowman Gray Stadium and also will have a new practice facility.

“The only thing that I regret with this bunch of seniors is they will miss a lot of stuff that we will have next season,” Blount said. “From the field house to the new practice facility, they won’t get to use those things, but these guys are important because they laid the foundation that helped us get to where we are.”

Photo: Head Football Coach Kermit Blount

• Linebacker Juan Corders is questionable for Saturday’s game at Bethune-Cookman with a foot infection.

Corders, a sophomore, stepped on something in his bare feet while the team was in Indianapolis earlier this month. The Rams beat Florida A&M 27-23, but Corders hasn’t been the same since the team got back.

“I’m worried whether he will be ready to go or not,” Coach Kermit Blount said.

Defensive coordinator Mike Ketchum said that if Corders doesn’t play, it would hurt the Rams’ defense. Corders has 17 tackles and two sacks this season.

“After we got back from Indianapolis they drained (the infection), but you can’t be too careful,” Ketchum said. “We’ll have to be careful to make sure he’s all right before we send him out there again.”

• One of the most unusual offenses in the MEAC is Bethune-Cookman’s “Wyattbone” which is named for Coach Alvin Wyatt. The offense is a triple-option attack that mixes in the I-formation and sometimes uses split backs.

Defensive coordinator Mike Ketchum of WSSU said that facing the Wyattbone always presents problems.

“They are really going to attack your defensive ends, your outside linebackers and your strong safety,” Ketchum said. “If they get the fullback going up the middle, then it’s really going to be tough to deal with. If you can make them go wide and the more their quarterback has to handle the option, the more likely you can force them into mistakes.

“It’s a different ballgame against them. When you build your defense on speed and aggressiveness and are always going hard, you really have to be assignment-oriented against them.”

• After taking a chartered flight to Indianapolis for the Circle City Classic in their last game, the Rams are back to their usual mode of transportation for Saturday’s game at Bethune-Cookman. They will take the long bus ride to Daytona Beach, Fla., for their sixth road trip in a row.

Monte Purvis said that he and his teammates should be used to all the traveling.

“We’ve been up and down the highways all season,” he said, “so if you aren’t used to it by now, you will never get used to it.”

The Rams are 2-3 on the road this season, but will get to play three straight home games after Saturday.