August 15, 2002

LAMB VERY PLEASED WITH FIRST DAY OF FRESHMAN PRACTICE;
BRAY, BLOCKER POST RECORD BREAKING TEST RESULTS

GREENVILLE -- After putting his first recruiting class through its first two practices in shorts and helmets on Thursday, new Furman head football coach Bobby Lamb indicated he was happy with what he saw.

"We are very pleased with them," said Lamb. "It's hard to decide much after two practices, but everybody seems to upbeat, I think, because of the winning tradition we have here, especially over the last three years, and I think they sense it from our upperclassmen."

Furman's morning and afternoon practices lasted 45 minutes each and covered the program¹s basic offensive and defensive schemes and terminology. One-on-one passing, receiving, coverage, and blocking drills were also part of Thursday's two workouts.

"For the most part it was individual work and techniques," added Lamb. "We had a short team period at the end because we don't even have any running backs. We basically just lined up in some offensive sets and got the defense lined up where they were supposed to be and ran some snap counts."

Nineteen of Furman's 21 freshmen took part in the drills. Offensive guard Kelsey Grodzicki (Atlanta, Ga./Marist, Ga.) did not gain medical clearance on Wednesday to participate in Thursday's practices, and quarterback Matt Summey (Asheville, N.C./Erwin H.S.) won't suit up for practices until the start of school due to the NCAA pre-season 90-player squad limit, according to Lamb.

Prior to Thursday's first practice, the Paladin freshmen were tested in the bench press and vertical jump, and the results of several players got the attention of the Paladin coaching staff.

Defensive tackle Wesley Bray (Cave Spring, Ga./Coosa H.S.) set a new freshman record with a bench press of 465 pounds, and offensive guard Patrick Covington (Charlotte, N.C./Myers Park H.S.) was second with a lift of 405 pounds. Bray¹s record mark ranks second only to sophomore center Craig Morgan¹s team leading 480-pound bench press mark recorded in the spring.

In the vertical jump, free safety Jeremy Blocker (Hodges, S.C./Greenwood H.S.), who in the spring won the state AAAA triple jump, cleared 35.5" for another freshman record. Linebacker William Marcus (Chesterfield, S.C./Chesterfield H.S.) was next (34.5"), followed by cornerback Tristian Owusu-Yaw (32.5").

"Wesley Bray benched 465 with ease, and we made him quit," said Lamb. "He also vertical jumped 31 inches, and that's weighing 262 pounds. He's a raw kid who had three different coaches in high school. He¹s got a lot of ability."

The Paladin freshmen will visit the Shriner's Hospital Friday morning before taking part in the NCAA mandated Academic Day. Furman's returning veterans are scheduled to report Friday between 3:00-5:00 p.m., with a team meeting slated for 7:00 p.m. The first full squad practice is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m. All Furman practices are open to the public.

Furman, which returns 11 starters off last year¹s 12-3 team that claimed a share of the Southern Conference championship and finished as NCAA I-AA runner-up, is ranked seventh in the Sports Network Preseason I-AA College Football Poll. Furman opens its 2002 season at Vanderbilt on Sept. 7.