Enthusiasm lacking on better day for UWA defense
LIVINGSTON, Ala.– It won’t be a day that merits a gold star beside it on Coach Brett Gilliland’s refrigerator calendar after the West Alabama football team lethargically made its way through a 110-play scrimmage Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
“It was a day,” Head Coach Brett Gilliland said. “We had some good things happen and we had some things happen that will be good for teaching. Things that we can learn from, things that would cost us a ball game.”
“The effort and enthusiasm need to be higher,” Gilliland said. “A lot of that is us as a staff. We expect a lot out of them and hold them to a higher standard. When they don’t reach that standard, we are honest with them. That’s what we saw today.”
The UWA defense controlled much of the scrimmage, setting the tone early by not allowing first downs or big plays. Freshman cornerback Cordell Plott and senior safety Montell Dent both recorded interceptions, while several passes were knocked away and defended well.
“Several guys on defense looked like they played pretty well. Abraham Wallace is making plays,” Gilliland said. “We had a couple of interceptions and hands on balls from several guys in the secondary, so there were high spots there.
“(Freshman defensive back) Trey Elston has had a really good camp. He has come in and tried to do exactly what he has been told to do.”
Although it is tougher to gauge with quarterbacks being off limits to contact, there were instances where the defensive front would have recorded sacks or quarterback hurries. Defensive linemen Dakota Rushing and Quadarius Reedconverged on Tiger quarterback Harry Satterwhite for what would have been a certain sack for a safety a one point.
“It was better discipline wise (than last week). We had guys on the defensive line filling their gaps right and doing the right techniques,” Rushing said. “Even on plays when we get sacks it’s the secondary that’s helping us get back there. It’s a group effort.”
Offensively the Tigers had difficulty sustaining drives, with the touchdowns coming primarily in situational goal line setups. Satterwhite and Tyriq Martin connected on a 7-yard touchdown pass in the goal line segment of the scrimmage and Christian Saulsberry scored on a 7-yard run during the same period.
Jordan Bennett field goals of 32 and 20 yards sandwiched between misses from 25 and 48 yards added to the scoring.
“We didn’t necessarily do the things we wanted to today, but it wasn’t a game, so that is good. We just have to keep pushing and getting better,” Tiger junior center Call Dyer said. “You are always going to have good and bad plays, but the good ones have to be more than the bad.”
The Tigers will take Sunday off before beginning game preparation for the season opener against Lenoir-Rhyne on Thursday, August 30 at Tiger Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.