UWA football finishes first scrimmage
LIVINGSTON, Ala.– Head coach Brett Gilliland called it a “typical first scrimmage” as the Tigers went mano a mano for almost two hours Saturday at Tiger Stadium, but there were big plays to go around for both sides of the ball.
“The intensity and competitiveness was good and high like we ask for it to be,” Gilliland said. “There were good plays on both sides of the ball, which is what you want if you are going to have a chance to be a good team.
“We got a lot of guys some work. Everybody got some reps today, so that comes with some good and some bad,” Gilliland said. “It will be great film work for us to get in and work on so hopefully by the next scrimmage we will get better.”
Senior quarterback and Harlon Hill Award candidate Harry Satterwhite threw four touchdown passes, two to true freshman receiver Tyriq Martin and two more to All-America tight end Qua Boyd to spark the offense.
The scoring tosses to Boyd were from 23 and 31 yards, with sophomore receiver Bayley Blanchard getting a nice block to help Boyd score on the 23-yarder. Martin’s TD catches were from 24 and 20 yards.
“It was a good first scrimmage with a lot of energy and a lot of guys flying around,” Satterwhite said. “We made some plays, but there were some mistakes. It was good for a first scrimmage but have to clean some things up before the next one.”
Satterwhite’s backup, redshirt freshman Jacob Murphree, also got into the act, connecting on scoring passes to Deyon Hill and Trevonte Carter from 18 and 12 yards, respectively. Junior kicker Jordan Bennett connected on a 35-yard field goal to open the scoring.
Senior defensive back Abraham Wallace and redshirt freshman Jai Smith recovered fumbles for the defense, while senior linebacker Charles Bester recorded a phantom sack for a safety. Hitting quarterbacks in the scrimmage was strictly forbidden.
All-Gulf South Conference defensive end Darius Ellis joined Chase Mitchell, Savon Parker and Nicarius Peterson, among others, who recorded broken up passes. Dre Watkins intercepted a pass.
Our defensive front looks really good and that makes it hard to run the ball. At the same time, we are protecting out quarterbacks,” Gilliland said. “There probably would have been some sacks and they would probably have gotten some hits on the quarterback, which is something we stress. They are playing at a high level.
“(Linebacker) Terry Samuel is the heart and soul of our defense,” Gilliland said. “Abraham Wallace has had a good camp and did some good things today, so we feel good about a lot of our new guys. It’s all about getting to work them and staying consistent.”
The Tigers will practice Sunday before taking Monday off for the first day of Fall Semester classes. The next scrimmage is set for the morning of Saturday, Aug. 18 at Tiger Stadium.