August 18, 2001

PALADINS STILL LOOKING FOR CONSISTENCY,
POSITION ANSWERS FOLLOWING SATURDAY SCRIMMAGE

GREENVILLE -- Although pleased with the effort of his team in Saturday's scrimmage in Paladin Stadium, Furman head coach Bobby Johnson indicated his squad needed more consistency in nearly every area before the season opener in two weeks against Wyoming.

"I thought our play was pretty good for only our third day in pads, and I saw a lot of good things out there, especially on defense, but we just didn't put together enough good plays offensively to sustain anything," Johnson said following the hour and a half scrimmage session that highlighted Fan Day at Furman.

With returning All-America and Walter Payton Award winning tailback Louis Ivory cooling off after carrying the ball only five times for 24 yards in one series, Furman's offensive focus was clearly on determining who will serve as Ivory's backup and who will start at fullback. In addition, the scrimmage afforded the Paladins the opportunity to showcase projected starting quarterback Billy Napier and a host of others contending for his backup duty.

"We weren't concerned with getting Louis a lot of plays, but we wanted to give some of the other guys a good look to see who can spell him at times this year," added Johnson. "At fullback, the jury's still out, I guess. It's just a matter of who is going to be the most consistent performer at a position that's tough to play. That's what it will boil down to there, who's the most consistent in blocking and running."

In addition to Ivory, the Paladins worked four other tailbacks, including sophomores Lamar Rembert (5 carries, 23 yards), Toreico O'Neal (7 carries, 40 yards), and Hindley Brigham ( 6 carries, 15 yards), and freshman Brandon Mays (8 carries, 28 yards), who scored the only rushing touchdown of the afternoon with a three-yard run late in the scrimmage.

The three fullback candidates, redshirt freshmen Corey Tant and Al Means and true freshmen Eric Emerson, all saw action on Saturday. Tant registered six carries for 32 yards, and Emerson had three rushes for 18 yards and Means 14 yards on three carries.

Napier completed 5-of-7 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown, which covered 13 yards to tight end Trent Sansbury. Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Van Dora completed two of three passes for 23 yards and accounted for the only other touchdown pass of the scrimmage when he hooked up with Brian Bratton on a 21-yard strike. Four other Paladin quarterbacks saw action, including sophomore Dave Mathews and true freshmen Bo Moore, Deric Mills, and Matt Cain.

"Billy going to be fine, and I think he will continue to improve, especially when we start narrowing our focus offensively," added Johnson.

Furman's defense recorded three unofficial sacks, with redshirt freshman linebackers Cedrick Ritter and Mike Killian, and sophomore Keito Whetstone getting to the quarterback.

"We didn't play Will Bouton so we could give Mike Killian some work at middle linebacker and see how he would do. He's a versatile player who we've got to figure out how to get on the field at some position, so it was good to get him some work."

Tight end Trent Sansbury led all receivers with three receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown, and in field goal work, sophomore Danny Marshall, the leading returning kicker in the Southern Conference, connected on 10-of-14 attempts.

After taking Sunday off, Furman will resume its twice daily practice schedule on Monday with practices at 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

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.