Football players report Wednesday night
8/1/2009 12:30:00 PM | Football
A total of 90 players will report Wednesday evening when head coach Todd Whitten holds the opening team meeting for Sam Houston State preseason football practice Wednesday night (August 5) at 7:15 p.m.
That number includes 65 players who participated in spring practice in March and April and 25 new freshmen and transfers. Sam Houston State returns 44 lettermen from the 2008 Bearkat squad. Eleven of those letter winners were starters last year – seven on offense and three on defense.
Actual work on the playing field will begin Thursday. The Bearkats will hold conditioning tests Thursday morning at 8:15 a.m. The first practice session will begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon at Bowers Stadium.
Sam Houston State opens the 2009 season with a home game Thursday Sept. 3 at 6 p.m. when the Bearkats play host to NCAA Division I FCS opponent Western Illinois. The Fightin' Leathernecks are members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Going into preseason camp, we have two areas of concern,” Whitten said. “The first is defense. Last year, we were No. 5 in NCAA FCS football in total offense and No. 105 in total defense. We have to stop people. We made some changes defensively in spring ball and were pleased with the intensity of our young players.
“The second area of concern is at quarterback. Rhett Bomar, who became Sam Houston's all-time total offense leader in just two years, is gone to the NFL.”
Sam Houston returns only three starters defensively – defensive end Chris Brown, linebacker Luke McCall and defensive tackle Kevin Smith. All three are seniors. Both Brown and McCall were named to the preseason All-Southland team, Brown as a first team selection and McCall on the second team.
The Bearkats must replace five defensive players who earned either All-Southland second team or honorable mention honors last year. Several players who saw extensive action in backup roles last year look to fill those shoes. The players include safety Randy Stewart, cornerbacks Cameron Jenkins and Jarvis Pippins, linebacker Brandon Bruce and defensive linemen Antonio Cobb and Justin Childs.
Offensively, eight starters return including preseason All-Southland offensive guard Hunter Schmidt, tackles Chris Crockett and Travis Watson, running back James Aston, center Jordan Bowersox, running back James Aston and wide receivers Chris Lucas and Jason Madkins. Also returning is running back Chris Poullard.
Poullard rushed for 1,038 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2007 while Aston gained 886 yards and scored 11 times in 2008.
During the spring game, Bomar's 2008 backup, transfer quarterback Bryan Randolph passed for 418 yards and three touchdowns.
“Bryan did a good job in the spring. We look for him to provide leadership on offense,” Whitten said.
Schmidt, a two-year starter in the offensive line, looks for the Bearkats to have a balanced attack in 2009.
“We return almost everybody on offense except for our quarterback and have strong senior leadership,” Schmidt said. “ I think that will help our new quarterback be a lot more comfortable in the system. We'll have a more balanced offense and that is going to be good. With the exception of Travis Watson, the offensive line is all seniors. I've been around all these guys for a long time and we all know what to expect from each other. The coaching staff has done a great job pushing us to do more and we're excited about the coming season.”
Sam Houston State will work out daily until the beginning of classes in late September.
“This is going to be another exciting season in the Southland,” Whitten said. “You don't have to remind us how competitive this league is top to bottom. Three of our losses last year were by a field goal or less. We return 11 starters this year and have a strong senior class who we will look to for leadership. We have a lot of young players who saw action in backup roles last year and look to have some good competition for starting jobs going into camp.”
Sam Houston State's tentative preseason practice schedule:
Thursday, Aug 6 – 3:30 p.m. practice
Friday, Aug. 7 – 3:30 p.m. practice
Saturday, Aug. 8 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Sunday, Aug. 9 – 4 p.m. practice
Monday, Aug. 10 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Tuesday, Aug. 11 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Wednesday, Aug. 12 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Thursday, Aug. 13 – 6 p.m. scrimmage
Friday, Aug. 14 – 3:30 p.m. practice
Saturday, Aug. 15 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Sunday, Aug. 16 – 4 p.m. practice
Monday, Aug. 17 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Tuesday, Aug. 18 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Wednesday, Aug. 19 – 6 p.m. scrimmage
Thursday, Aug. 20 – 3:30 p.m. practice
Friday, Aug. 21 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Saturday, Aug. 22 – 8:30 a.m. practice
Sunday, Aug. 23 – 8:30 a.m. practice
