Golden Eagle gridders prepare for first fall scrimmage Saturday
The Golden Eagles have been in pads for a few days now, and on Saturday night coach Watson Brown and his staff will get their first look at how the team fits together with the first scrimmage of fall camp.
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Two weeks into fall camp, Tennessee Tech
head football coach Watson Brown and his staff will get their first
glimpse of how the pieces are fitting together for the Golden
Eagles as the team holds its first scrimmage Saturday night at 7
p.m. in Tucker Stadium.
Brown said he hopes to run approximately 90 plays between his
offenses and defenses, plus about a dozen kicking plays. The team
will be on the field at 6 p.m., and should be ready to begin the
scrimmage plays at 7 p.m.
"This has been 'installation week' and the first scrimmage is
usually not real pretty," Brown said. "It's a chance for us to
decide on the personnel pieces and watch people play.
"The second scrimmage (next week) is more about doing things
right, but this is still an important scrimmage because we get to
watch about 30 new guys and see how they can perform," Brown
said.
The 90-man roster will be missing eight players Saturday for the
scrimmage, most due to injuries, but Brown said none of the
injuries will keep anybody out for the year. Defensive players who
will miss the action Saturday are Brendon Fisher, Justin Hilliard
and Marcus Edwards. On offense, the players slated to watch from
the sidelines are Taylor Askew, Andrew Higgins, Jamere Hogue,
Demetrous Garrett and Alden Olverson.
The Golden Eagles will hold a second scrimmage next Saturday,
Aug. 29, in conjunction with the annual Gathering of Eagles picnic
in Tucker Stadium. The picnic, which is free and open to the
public, begins at 12:30 p.m., and the scrimmage begins at 1
p.m.
Tech opens the 2009 season on Thursday night, Sept. 10, with a 7
p.m. contest against Pikeville College in Tucker Stadium. Season
tickets are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center
or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets can also be ordered online by
clicking here.
Shown above: Sophomore wide receiver Tim Benford has a little fun during the 2009 Media Day. Benford was named the 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, setting a school record with 68 receptions. He tied the school record with 10 touchdown catches.
