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Football Hawks signal start of 2011, open training camp
By Jim O'Hara
ROME – Don’t tell the 162 players wearing the blue helmets that they have plenty of time to get ready for their season opener.
When the Shorter University football team stepped on to Ben Brady Field for their first preseason workout in full pads, the Hawks wasted little time getting into the right frame of mind.
“I was real pleased,” said SU head coach Phil Jones after watching his 2011 team complete its third day of preseason drills on Saturday with a spirited practice that included a feisty run-between-the-tackles showdown between the Hawks’ offense and defense.
“When we got into the intense periods,” the coach said, “they stepped it up.”
The Hawks have plenty of challenges in their immediate future as the new schedule starts with the season opener on Sept. 10 in Babson Park, Fla., against a strong Webber International squad that is ranked No. 20 in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 poll.
Preseason practice allows each player the opportunity to prove his worth towards helping the Hawks as a member of the eventual two-deep lineup. Over the next few weeks, all 162 student-athletes will seek the attention of the coaching staff to earn playing time.
Jones and his coaches know that seeing what each player has to offer is critical during the opening phases of the preseason, despite the hot summer conditions that eased a little during Saturday morning’s session.
“It’s still hot,” said Jones. “Thank God it’s not as hot as it was the weeks right before we started. The hardest thing right now is to get the reps in for everyone. It’s a gradual process. We want them to get their reps and we want to see all of them.
“The late start to the season does give us a longer time to prepare, but this week is a big week for all of our players.”
Possessing the deepest roster since the program started seven years ago, the Hawks return plenty of experience on both sides of the ball after losing just 13 players from last year’s team to graduation.
One of those graduates is Ben Williams, who started as the Hawks quarterback for the past three years and whose departure leaves a void behind center.
Shorter does have a pair of veterans who are eager to fill the role – senior David Byrd, who is well-versed in the Hawks’ offensive system after serving as Williams’ backup for the last two seasons, and junior Cory Thacker, who is Shorter’s returning punter but anxious to line up behind center like he did when he led Rome High to the Class AAAA state playoffs.
Both upperclassmen, however, have never started a game at Shorter, a trait shared by the talented and deep group of young quarterbacks who are working to grab the attention of the coaches.
That group includes freshman Eric Dodson, who rolled up 3,280 total yards and 33 touchdowns in two seasons as a starter at Thomas County Central High where he ran an option offense identical to Shorter’s.
“Eric is a very good player and a great kid and student,” Jones said of Dodson.
The coach also pointed out that two other freshmen arrive at Shorter with high hopes and strong prep credentials – Dylan Haynes, who ran the same offense at Cherokee County High where he was a teammate of Shorter sophomore running back Kenny Foster, and Glenn Cassedy from Evans High in Augusta.
The quarterback possibilities leave Jones with a smile, but the coach is quick to note that Byrd, who has bided his time waiting in the wings, has the job.
“Somebody will have to beat him out,” the coach said of Byrd. “We’ll see what materializes.”
