RICHMOND, Ky. - At the midway point of fall football drills at Eastern Kentucky University, veteran head coach Roy Kidd is pleased with how his defense is 'getting after people' as the Colonels continue preparation for the 1998 season's opener, Sept. 5 against Kentucky State at 7 p.m. at Roy Kidd Stadium.
EKU went through its first major scrimmage of the fall last Saturday at the Presnell Building practice field. The Colonel defense controlled most of the action, especially out in the middle of the field.
"I was really impressed with our defense," said Kidd. "They played with a lot more enthusiasm and intensity than our offense. We were very aggressive, ran to the ball good and basically dominated the line of scrimmage.
"I was disappointed with the penalties, lack of concentration and quarterback sacks that just shut down our offense. Of course, we had three of our key linemen (senior guard Tyrone Hopson, senior center Reggie Myrtil and junior guard Josh Hunter) who weren't able to play because of being injured or sickness."
Kidd, who is beginning his 35th season as Eastern's head coach, knows, however, that there is still nearly two weeks until the opener against KSU.
"We have plenty of time to correct these mistakes on offense. Most of our experienced players are back on offense so we feel confident that this unit will come around," Kidd added. "Overall, I would say we had some good and some bad which is to be expected at this point of fall practice."
Junior quarterback Jon Denton, transfer from UNLV, got most of the snaps with the first team offense and Kidd said that Denton had won the starter's job.
"There's no doubt in my mind that Jon is our No. 1 quarterback with what he has shown thus far," Kidd said. "Waylon (Chapman) is No. 2 and then (Chad) Collins' arm is hurting him, so we've had to hold him out a little bit."
Kidd has been impressed with both of EKU's tailbacks, junior Derick Logan, All-OVC last season and pre-season pick at that post this year, and sophomore Corey Crume, honorable mention pre-season pick for 1998.
"We consider Derick and Corey both first team. There's been some talk about putting those two in the same backfield and playing Corey at fullback, and we've actually done that some this fall. But, I don't believe we'll be doing that too much in the early part of our schedule because of the hot weather and stamina factor. I like to rest our tailbacks some and keep a fresh pair of legs back there as much as possible," said Kidd.
Senior wide receivers Rondel Menendez and Brian Brenneman, sophomore Alexander Bannister and new players, sophomore Anthony Boggs and freshman Nick Towns, will get the lion's share of the playing time at wideout.
"We have some folks at wideout that are capable of making the big play," Kidd said. "We just need to be more consistent and do a better job concentrating on catching the football. Our blocking on the corner also needs to improve."
On defense, junior tackle Jason Muchow and senior tackle Justin Ernest are providing excellent leadership and are having good fall practices, although Ernest missed some days with an illness.
"Jason reported back in the best shape since he's been here and you can tell it on the field. He's doing great," Kidd said.
New players on defense expected to see action are junior defensive backs Lawrence Walls, Isaac Carter and Remond Goode, junior linebacker Marcel Desir and sophomore linebackers Tim Gibbens and Chris Minter.
"I believe these guys are going to help us. These defensive backs just need to continue to learn our defense and our coverages. They've got the speed and athletic skills necessary to play back there. We've also been impressed with Gibbens, Desir and Minter and believe they're going to contribute," Kidd added.
Kidd and his staff will send the Colonels through a scrimmage Thursday, Aug. 27, at Roy Kidd Stadium at 7:30 p.m. following the Colonel Club's annual fish fry. All Colonel Club members are welcomed to stay and catch a glimpse at the '98 version of the Colonels.
"Our thinking right now is to have the 1's play the 2's for a half and then see where we stand. We want them to get used to the lights and work on their stamina for a real game-type situation," Kidd said.
Season tickets to Eastern's six-game home schedule are on sale weekdays from 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. at the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum.
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