RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University football Colonels ran through their first full-scale scrimmage Wednesday evening at the Presnell Building practice field and veteran coach Roy Kidd was impressed with what he saw from his team as it prepares for the season opener Sept. 5 against Kentucky State.
One of the priorities of the early fall scrimmages is to find which young players will be able to help the Colonels fill out the two-deep depth chart or possibly vie for a starting position.
"I thought for the first time out, it (the scrimmage) was pretty good," said Kidd. "We've definitely got some work to do, but you expect that after being out in full pads only three days.
"We wanted to scrimmage so we can go back to the office and look at them on video and try and find out just who is going to help us this year. We have some young players who are physically where we're pleased with them, speed-wise where we want them to be, but who need to work on their mental game.
"This is particularly crucial on defense in the secondary where just one mental lapse can cost you six points. I'm pleased with what I'm seeing back there (secondary) overall. They just need more work and to concentrate on their assignments a little better."
The first live scrimmage rekindled the usual note of concern from Kidd, who is beginning his 35th season as head coach of the Colonels.
"We were hitting pretty hard and you look and we've got (Jon) Denton, (Derick) Logan and (Corey) Crume out there at one time. It kind of scares you to see them take the contact like that, but you've got to do it. That's just football. You can't protect them in a real game so you just hope they remain healthy and fit at the end of these scrimmages," Kidd said.
EKU, pre-season pick to defend its Ohio Valley Conference football title in 1998, has six home games on the schedule, beginning with the 7:00 p.m. contest Sept. 5 with Kentucky State. Other home encounters include Oct. 10, vs. Tennessee State, 7:00 p.m.; Oct. 17, vs. Murray State (Homecoming), 12:30 p.m.; Nov. 7, vs. Southeast Missouri, 1:30 p.m.; Nov. 14, vs. Appalachian State, 1:30 p.m.; and Nov. 21, vs. Eastern Illinois, 1:30 p.m.
EKU football season tickets are on sale weekdays at the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum. Office hours are 8:00 a.m-4:30 p.m.
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