A Work In Progress
8/28/2012 7:20:00 AM | Football
With less than two weeks to go before the season gets cranked up, the Bearkats know they need to get everything just right before heading into the 2012 campaign going full steam ahead as the top-ranked team in the Football Championship Subdivision.
Monday night's scrimmage, Sam Houston's final one of the preseason, was a chance to have one final dress rehearsal, leading into the final week of camp and then beginning preparations for the Sept. 8 season opener.
It wasn't as sharp as coach Willie Fritz would've liked, but it gave his coaching staff plenty of things to look at and build off of going forward.
"I was just a little disappointed about getting out of the huddle, communication and enthusiasm," the coach said. "We had two days off, so I thought we would've been a little frisky out there on the field. We've got a ways to go."
Early on, the offense, which is still trying to learn its new system, had its share of miscues with high snaps that sailed over the quarterback's head to multiple false start penalties. In overtime situations, all the first-team offense could manage was a pair of field goals in its first few possessions that began 25 yards from the end zone.
As the offense continued to take snaps, it began to look more comfortable and started to get into a zone.
"That was just some little mistakes that we can get fixed. I'd rather have it be something we can fix than something we can't," Kats junior quarterback Brian Bell said. "High snaps weren't the only thing that went bad tonight. We had a million mistakes offensively and I had a million and two mistakes. I've got to improve and we've all got to improve.
"I did think we got into a little rhythm in the end. I think we were just wearing down the defense a little bit. We've got a long ways to go."
Through most of Monday night's workout, backup quarterbacks Chris Grett, a redshirt sophomore, and true freshmen Jared Johnson and Don King III had their hand at running plays from under center.
"We're trying to make a decision on who our number two quarterback is," Fritz said. "We'll watch the tape and really grade it and evaluate it. I saw three of them do some good things. I don't know if we cleared the process any or not."
Following kicker Miguel Antonio's two field goals from 25 and 49 yards, Bell finally got the offense to move downfield. The junior scrambled out of the pocket to his right, then reversed fields and then hit his speedy junior receiver Torrance Williams, who had separated himself from the defense, for a 33-yard touchdown.
Grett then got to work, first using his feet to weave between defenders before laying a hit on a would-be tackler for a first down.
Grett later connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass.
When King and Johnson took the field, each found success moving the chains and set up touchdown plunges for the second- and third-string running backs just outside of the end zone.
"They made some rookie mistakes, but I saw some really good things also," Fritz said about his backup signal-callers. "Chris directed, I think, two touchdown drives. I saw some good things from Don King and I saw Jared running the football, really doing a nice job."
The Sam Houston defense made it difficult for the offense to run the ball effectively, constantly getting into the backfield and applying pressure. Toward the end of the scrimmage, the defense was able to get its hands on a fumbled pitch on an option. After the offense was unable to recover it or knock it out of bounds, one of the Kats defensive backs was able to scoop it up and run it in for a 33-yard score.
After getting a chance to see what they need to improve on, the Bearkats will get right back to work today to finish off camp on a strong note this week.
"You can do a lot in two weeks," Bell said. "We've got a lot we can improve on and that's obvious. Two weeks is a long time. We're ready and fired up. We're ready to get going. We're coming in here tomorrow. We'll start fresh and be positive. We'll get it turned around, no problem."
While the rest of the country gets started this weekend, the Bearkats will be off for their bye week. Next week, they will begin preparing for their 2012 season opener against Incarnate Word, which will be played at Bowers Stadium.
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