RICHMOND, Ky. - "It's obvious to me that we need to work on our depth," said Eastern Kentucky University head football coach Roy Kidd as his team entered its third week of fall practice in preparation for the 1999 season's opener, Sept. 2 against Kentucky State University at 7:00 p.m. at Roy Kidd Stadium.

"I believe if we stay healthy, we can have a competitive first team. But quite a few of our second-string guys are either redshirt freshmen or true freshmen, and they still need a lot of work. We had a problem with penalties in Saturday's scrimmage and a lot of that was inexperience on our part. We have got to work harder and concentrate better as a team."

EKU has also been bothered by the injury bug again this season after a 1998 year that saw the Colonels have 12 players undergo some type of surgery.

Second-string quarterback Chad Collins sprained his right ankle last Thursday in a non-contact passing drill and will have to miss this coming week of practice. Also, second-string safety J.D. Jewell broke a bone in his left hand that same day. He was able to participate in Saturday's scrimmage, however.

On Saturday's first set of offensive plays, senior tailback Derick Logan pulled his left hamstring muscle and will be held out of all drills for an undetermined amount of time. Also, third-team tailback Maurice Clark injured his hip Saturday and will miss some work this week.

Junior Waylon Chapman got the bulk of the snaps Saturday at quarterback.

"Waylon didn't get set properly a few times and didn't throw particularly well, although some of his passes were dropped," Kidd said. "He's had better practices."

Impressing the coaching staff thus far has been the progress of junior split-end Alex Bannister and junior wideout Tyrone Browning, a transfer from Indiana University who led the Hoosiers in receptions last season with 47 catches.

Also, continuing to impress Kidd and his coaching staff has been the progress of true freshman placekicker Jamie Flynn. He made all of extra point and field goal attempts Saturday.

Defensively, senior tackle Jason Muchow missed Saturday's practice with a minor knee injury, as did sophomore end Randy Lawrence, out an unspecified time with a knee injury suffered just before camp opened.

"We looked pretty good on defense, but our line was playing too high and needs work on technique," Kidd said. "We also need to wrap up people when we tackle them. I saw a lot of missed tackles Saturday."

Tickets to EKU's five-game home schedule may be purchased weekdays by visiting the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum or by phoning the ticket office at (606) 622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493.