August 13, 1999
Release: Upon Receipt

AFTERNOON RAIN STORM FORCES FURMAN TO JUGGLE PRACTICE
SCHEDULE; JOHNSON IMPRESSED WITH MOBILITY OF NEWCOMERS

GREENVILLE -- A rain storm forced Furman to postpone its regularly scheduled Friday afternoon football practice session to evening, but the change in plans didn't dampen Paladin head coach Bobby Johnson's impression of his squad's 20 freshmen in the Paladins' first day of practice in shorts and helmets.

"We had a good morning session, but it started thundering and lightning just before we got underway this afternoon, so we just came in and did our testing in the weight room before supper," said Johnson, whose squad completed its first day with a two hour evening practice.

"They showed us about what we expected. The linebackers, defensive backs, and offensive backs moved around real well like we figured they could, and we began to verify some things that we couldn't tell about them until they got here, like the fact that the two tailbacks could catch the football. After one day of practice, though, it's hard to tell that much about any of them."

In weight room testing, Johnson cited numbers posted by linebacker Keito Whetstone (Orangeburg, S.C.) and tailback Toreico O'Neal (Barnesville, Ga.).

"We're really pleased with some of the results in the bench press and vertical jump. Keito and Toreico had good combinations. They both appear to be very strong, and Keito led the way in the vertical jump."

Whetstone, an all-state performer at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School last year, posted a vertical jump of 33' and a bench press of 355 pounds to share top honors with defensive tackles Josh McWhorter (Cartersville, Ga.) and LeBryan Sperling (Decatur, Ga.). O'Neal and linebacker Andrew Knight (Snellville, Ga.) were next with lift of 335 pounds in the bench press exercise.

Furman's freshmen will practice twice on Saturday in shorts and helmets beginning at 9:30 and 1:30 p.m. Upperclassmen will report to pre-season camp Saturday afternoon and, following picture day on Sunday, will join the newcomers for the squad's first full practice Monday morning beginning at 6:20 a.m. Afternoon practice sessions are scheduled for 3:20 p.m. All Furman practices are free and open to the public.

Furman opens its 1999 season when it hosts Elon on Sept. 4.

NOTES: Head coach Bobby Johnson announced Friday that Matt Mangum (Newnan, Ga.) would begin work with Furman's offensive line. Mangum had also been considered as a possible defensive line candidate prior to his arrival.