MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A two-hour session on Sunday marked the
final practice for the Huntingdon Hawks before school starts on Monday.
Following two days of scrimmages, the Hawks weren’t as crisp
as head coach Mike Turk wanted. But he said it was an important step in
adjusting to in-season practices.
“It was a little bit of a letdown today, after two very
intense scrimmages,” Turk said of the veterans’ scrimmage with Mississippi
College on Friday and a first-year player scrimmage on Saturday. “Today, being
the first day back, we didn’t have the energy and enthusiasm we normally have.
But that’s all part of the process of getting ready.
“One of the purposes of this practice was to get us ready
for school mode. School starts on Monday and we’ll be practicing in the
afternoon from now on. It’s a change in routine with a different set of
challenges and we’re trying to start adapting.”
Senior defensive back Justin Brown said the team held a
meeting after practice to discuss the importance of making each practice count.
“We talked about how we’ve got to keep working and how we
have to come out here and get better each day,” Brown said. “There is a lot of
unity on this team and we have a lot of leaders on this team. We know we need
to seize the day, not lose the day.”
Turk said the Hawks are counting on Brown and fellow senior
Keith Anthony to set the tone in the secondary. Brown and Anthony are the only
returning starters in the defensive backfield, but the coaches like the
potential they see in several first-year players.
“We have some young guys that are coming along. There are guys
like George Johnson,” Turk said of the freshman from G.W. Carver. “We’ve seen George making a lot of plays. He’s
young and he’s still making some mistakes, but he looks like he is far enough
along to help us out this year.
“There are some talented guys in that class. We’re going to
need some help from them in a hurry, so it’s encouraging to see them making
progress.”
Brown said he is also excited about what he has seen out of
the younger defensive backs.
“They are working
hard,” Brown said. “We keep stressing to them that they have to step up to the
challenge and be ready to work each day. We need them to be ready to step out
on the field with us this season.”
The Hawks have Monday off from practice and will return to
practice on Tuesday. Huntingdon will hold its final preseason scrimmage on
Wednesday.
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