TSU Tiger Camp 2016: First Scrimmage

NASHVILLE, Tennessee  -- The Tennessee State football team completed its first scrimmage of the 2016 season on Saturday morning at Hale Stadium. Head Coach Rod Reed saw a number of standout performances on the offensive and defensive side of the ball on the day.

The offense moved the ball on the first possession highlighted by a 30-yard run by Erick Evans. The defense, however, would have the better of the play on the next few possessions.

Marvin Maddox recovered a fumble on one drive before the defense came up with a stop on 4th and 1 on the following possession. Defensively, Ebo Ogundeko came up with a sack and Chris Collins had a tackle for a loss next time the offense had the ball.

The offense was able to break through with first down catches from Aaron Cauthen, Dantwaun O’Neal and Steven Newbold leading to a 21-yard field goal by Mitchell Boudreaux.

The defense again came up with a big play on the next possession as Gabe Scott picked off a long pass on the first play of the drive. On one of the final plays of the scrimmage, Marcus Deanes turned a short completion into a 60-yard gain up the left sideline.

Before wrapping up, the offense ran plays in the red zone, which included a touchdown catch by Newbold off a pass from O’Shay Ackerman-Carter.



NOTES: Scrimmage Temperature: 78 degrees… The team will have an off day tomorrow before returning to practice on Monday morning at 9 a.m.

Head Coach, Rod Reed
- General thoughts on the scrimmage
“I thought offensively we started fast then we hit a lull. The defense stepped it up in the middle of the scrimmage and kind of dominated until we got in the red zone. I thought we made some big plays in the red zone. We saw some playmaking ability out of Marcus Deanes and Chris Rowland, that’s something we’ve been waiting to see. Steven Newbold also caught a corner route, so that was good. It was good to see we were able to get some explosiveness out of our offense. Defensively, I thought we played really well in between the 25 to the 25, but we’ve got to be better in the red zone. All in all, I’m pleased with the scrimmage.”

- On the play of the defense
“At this time of the year, if the defense wasn’t ahead of the offense, I always say this, I would be concerned. Defense should be where they are at this point. For the offense, Coach (Jeff) Parker and that staff, they do a great job of making adjustments. I think you’ll see a little different story next scrimmage that we have. It was fun to see our guys get out there and make the adjustments. We had the headsets on today, we had the officials, so we’re trying to make it as game like as possible for our first scrimmage. I thought it went really well.”

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS