Alabama A&M Football Opens Fall Camp

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama — As he walked between the rows of players stretching on the turf, Alabama A&M strength and conditioning coach Lonnie Brown did not hide his enthusiasm.

Brown's booming voice echoed throughout Louis Crews Stadium, and Alabama A&M's players enthusiastically responded.

This was a moment everyone involved with Alabama A&M's football program had been looking forward to since February, when Connell Maynor was hired as the Bulldogs' new head football coach.

The Maynor era of Alabama A&M football officially began Friday morning as the Bulldogs took the field at Louis Crews Stadium for first practice of fall camp.



"These next few weeks are extremely important," Maynor said. "The work we do now will determine the type of success our team has when the season begins. Our coaches and players are excited to be out here and getting this process underway."

Alabama A&M opened camp with 105 players on the roster.

The players practiced in shells on Friday. The first practice in full pads is scheduled for Tuesday — the fourth practice of camp.

Even though Alabama A&M returns multiple starters on both offense and defense, a prominent theme for fall camp is competition for playing time. Since the new coaching staff's arrival in February, Alabama A&M has added six junior college and Division I transfers to the program.

Those competitions are now underway.

"Every player has an opportunity to show our coaches what they can do," Maynor said. "Every spot is up for grabs. It's up to the players to earn it."

Alabama A&M continues practice on Saturday. Camp resumes on Monday. Practices begin at 10:30 a.m.

Practices are open to the public. Spectators are asked to watch from outside the fence at the field. When practices are held at Louis Crews Stadium, spectators must stay outside the track.

Alabama A&M hosts Miles on Sept. 1 in the Louis Crews Classic to open the season.

Maynor was pleased with the results from the first day.

"It was a good first practice," he said. "But even though this was a good starting point, we still have a lot of work to do. We have to continue to improve every single day."

PRACTICE SCHEDULE
Saturday, Aug. 4 (Shells)
Monday, Aug. 6 (Shells)
Tuesday, Aug. 7 (Full Pads)
Wednesday, Aug. 8 (Full Pads)
Thursday, Aug. 9 (Shells)
Friday, Aug. 10 (Helmets)
Saturday, Aug. 11 (Scrimmage)

ALABAMA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS