Murray State University Athletics
Newcomers Shine In First Scrimmage
8/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
A thunder-storm shortened Sunday's scrimmage by a few minutes, but Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio was pleased with what his football team showed prior to the lightning strikes.
"For a first scrimmage it was pretty good," said the fourth-year Racer head coach. "As usual there were some bright spots and some concerns, but overall it I thought we had a lot of enthusiasm out there."
A crowd of about 300 fans was treated to some big plays by both the offense and defense. The Racers' three freshmen running backs all ripped off long runs, while the defense forced two fumbles and turned them into touchdowns.
"With the kind of athletes we have you expect some big plays," said Pannunzio. "I was a little disappointed that we fumbled the football on offense, but you have to credit the defense for making those plays."
Pannunzio was a little surprised that the defense, which has been ahead of the offense for most of camp, allowed the offense to move the ball as well as it did.
"We had a few guys out on offense, so I was really expecting to see the offense struggle. But the offense moved the ball pretty well on our defense at times," Pannunzio noted. "But, I've learned that those things can change quickly. Next week, the defense may come out and dominate the offense. That's usually how it works."
Senior receivers Deandre Green and Andrew Nowacki, both starters, did not suit up Sunday. Pannunzio said that both players had minor injuries and he didn't want to put them at risk. Junior running backs Ron Lane and Ulysses Odoms each played sparingly, but both turned in solid scrimmages.
"Deandre and Andrew are fine, I just didn't want them exposed out there," explained Pannunzio. "Both of them are veteran guys and have had great camps, so I know where they are right now. Plus, when you hold out those guys, it opens up some reps for the younger players."
Junior wide receiver Leonard Nutter took advantage of the extra work, catching three passes from senior quarterback Stewart Childress on the first drive of the scrimmage. Later in the afternoon, freshmen running backs, Larry Grant, Oscar Walker and Chad Cook turned heads with several impressive carries.
"I'm real excited about our young running backs," said Pannunzio. "They've been impressive in practice, but I wanted to see how they'd do in a live situation and they delivered. They're all very talented players and all three of them have a chance to play for us this year. I'd rather redshirt them all, but we're probably going to need one or two of them to step in and play this season."
Defensively, cornerback Laroni Gallishaw, a transfer from Louisville, delivered two big hits on pass plays and linebacker Rohan Godson was in on several tackles.
"I was a little surprised that the defense didn't play better, but I still saw a lot of good things over there," said Pannunzio. "We have the kind of athletes on defense now who can make big plays and that's what they did Sunday. Now, we just need to clean up some things and become a more solid defense, which I'm confident we'll do in the next week."
The Racers will practice at 9 a.m. Tuesday before going back to 3:30 p.m. practices once classes start on Wednesday. The team will conduct its final scrimmage on Saturday at 9 a.m. with a youth clinic/autograph session to follow at around 10:30 a.m.
