ASU football: Barlow era begins as Hornets hit field for fall drills
By Josh Moon
August 5, 2007
As the majority of the Alabama State football team sprinted up and down the field late Saturday afternoon, a handful of Hornet players were on their hands and knees in one end zone, heads down and dry heaving.
Ah, the first day of fall football camp.
Those who hit the weight room hard and did the suggested running during the off-season were OK. Those who didn't had grass stains on their palms and knees.
"The tempo out here just wasn't what I wanted it to be today," first-year head coach Reggie Barlow said. "I think we saw that some of these guys haven't been doing very much over the summer. I guess some of the problems were expected -- lot of new faces and young guys out here. But I still wasn't very happy."
It wasn't all bad news on Saturday.
An overwhelming majority handled the first day with no problem, including cornerback Brandon Averett and defensive lineman Greg Tonico, who are each returning from serious injury.
"It's just great to be back out here," said Averett, who missed several games at the end of last season because of a broken wrist. "I trained twice a day every day I was out. I felt like I let my teammates down by not being out here last year. I wasn't going to let them down again by not being in shape."
Barlow also said he saw good things from his SIX quarterbacks.
"I thought really all of those guys played pretty good," he said. "They all had some good passes, some good reads. Darius Mathis had a real good day. I was anxious to see how Chris Mitchell, who transferred in, would do, and he did well. Alex (Engram), I thought, made some good throws."...
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Hornets Hit the Field to Open 'O7
Barlow's boys bear heat to kickoff fall practice
Aug. 4, 2007
Montgomery, Ala. - It was a day he'd thought about since his playing days at Alabama State begun, more than 15 years earlier.
On Saturday, Reggie Barlow led his team out onto the practice field for the very first time as head coach.
"It was great to get out there," said Barlow. "We didn't have the tempo I wanted; we had a lot of new guys feeling their way. But overall, it was pretty good."
As the 80-plus players ran onto the freshly-cut turf at Hornet stadium, with the enthusiasm of game day - though they were only in t-shirts and shorts, the almost triple-degree temperatures quickly revealed who had done what to prepare for that day.
"You see the guys who stayed here to work out this summer and the benefit of it," Barlow said. "And, you can see the guys who went home and how they impacted them too."
And while almost a third of the team were practicing as a Hornet for the first time, many of the same old faces - and old voices - made their presence felt.
"Well, Leland Jones and Brandon Averett," Barlow laughed, "you knew they were out there. They brought exactly what we expected from them. But the new receivers, man, they really showed some things, especially how they caught the ball in front with their hands."
With four more practices left before the Hornets get into pads, Barlow hopes to get a couple of things done.
"We need to continue to add plays, and really overload the guys and see who can catch on," Barlow said. "At the same time, we are getting ready for a game and we've got to work toward that."
UNDER CENTER: Six players took turns throwing passes during Saturday's workout. Returnees Alex Engram and Darius Mathis were joined by junior college transfer Chris Mitchell and freshmen John Andrews, Brandon Dowdell and Devin Dominguez....:tup:
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