August 12, 2003


EVALUATION PROCESS INTENSIFIES IN
PALADINS’ FIRST DAY IN FULL PADS

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman head coach Bobby Lamb said Tuesday that he was happy with his team’s work in its first day in full pads and that the evaluation process would now begin in earnest.

“It was a very good day overall,” said Lamb. “Once you get to 11-on-11 work, which we had today, you can find out who can play and who can’t, so I expect we’ll probably have a few changes in the depth chart in the next few days. We’re going to give them a few more days but then we’re going to start narrowing it down to figure out who we need to get ready for Elon.”

According to Lamb, among the personnel decisions the coaching staff will make over the next week will be whether to redshirt several promising true freshmen.

“We’ve always taken the approach that if a freshman can help us in the two deep, we would play them, but if they are just going to run up and down the field on kickoffs, we will redshirt them,” added Lamb. “Wallace Artis, Andrew Thacker, and Cedrick Gipson have been impressive and are nibbling on the two deep. You don’t want to get too excited about them because it’s early and they’re just starting to learn, but you can see the talent is there.”

Artis, an all-state performer at Calhoun Falls (S.C.) High School a year ago, is battling to secure a position at defensive end behind returning veterans, senior Brandon Poole and junior Travis Jones. Thacker, who earned all-state honors at Gainesville (Ga.) High School last year, is contending for a backup role at cornerback, where redshirt freshman Maurice Duncan has been sidelined since Sunday with a hamstring strain. And at tailback Gipson, a Shrine Bowl selection who rushed for 1,702 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2002, faces a more difficult task of earning playing time behind returning seniors Hindley Brigham and Lamar Rembert, and sophomore Brandon Mays.

Furman finished off Tuesday’s three hour practice with a 45-minute scrimmage that emphasized first down offensive and defensive strategy.

“Our 11-on-11 session dealt primarily with first down and 10 situations and some solid work on our play action passing game against different fronts and coverages. We had some big plays on both sides of the football.”

Furman will undergo its first day of twice daily practices on Wednesday with morning and afternoon practices.

Notes: Head coach Bobby Lamb announced Tuesday that reserve tailback Corky Howell (Greer, S.C.) has quit the team.