FURMAN TO GO TO FULL PADS THURSDAY

GREENVILLE -- After three days of practice in shorts and helmets, the Furman Paladins' step up a notch to full gear beginning Thursday morning.

"Going to pads will give us a chance to test our young players and see how they do banging against each other," said head coach Bobby Johnson Wednesday afternoon. "A lot of our older guys, we know what they can do in pads, so it won't be that a big a deal for them, but we do need some live work to make sure we can do at full speed what we've been practicing in shorts and helmets the last few days."

While Thursday morning's session will include contact work, the Paladins first 11-on-11 scrimmage action is scheduled for the afternoon practice.

Furman's two Wednesday practice sessions included continued installation of the team's offensive and defensive schemes and, according to Johnson, some new material.

"It was a little ragged out there at times, but that wasn't because of a lack of effort, but mainly due to the fact that we were going over some brand new stuff that hardly anybody on the team is familiar with. We were trying to practice it so when we get the pads on we can decide if we want to use it and put it in our package for good, or forget about it."

Among players to earn Johnson's praise on Wednesday were junior quarterback Billy Napier and the team's wide receivers. "In the one-on-one period, the wideouts and Billy (Napier) made some good catches and throws, especially in the red zone."

Furman practices begin at 6:20 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. and are open to the public. Fan Day is scheduled for Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at Timmons Arena prior to Furman's scrimmage, which starts at approximately 2:30 p.m. at Paladin Stadium.

Furman, which opens the 2001 season at Wyoming on Sept. 1, returns 19 starters off a 2000 squad that posted a 9-3 record. The Paladins were ranked No. 6 in the Sports Network NCAA I-AA Preseason Football Poll, which was released on Monday.