RICHMOND, Ky.-- The 1999 Eastern Kentucky University Colonel football team opens two-a-day practice sessions Wednesday (Aug. 11) in preparation for the upcoming 11-game schedule.

Freshmen and newcomers reported last Saturday, returning veterans came in Monday and Media Day activities were held Tuesday morning. Physical fitness tests were completed Tuesday afternoon and practice begins Wednesday morning.

"We have a lot of work to do, but I was impressed in the spring with this team's attitude. We need to stay healthy to have a chance at a successful year because we're really thin in some positions," said Roy Kidd, who will begin his 36^th year at the helm of the Colonel football program.

Twelve starters are among 29 lettermen returning for the 1999 season.

EKU is coming off a disappointing 6-5 season that was filled with injuries to key personnel throughout the year which led Eastern to finish 4-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play and tie for fourth place in the final standings.

Eight starters return for Eastern on a defensive unit that finished third in the league in scoring defense (24.9), paced by second team All-OVC choices, senior free safety Shawn Gallant (6-1, 200) and senior tackle Jason Muchow (6-0, 285). Both these players were chosen to the 1999 pre-season All-OVC team.

Gallant closed with a rush toward the end of the '98 year and finished the season as the Colonels' second-leading tackler with 68 hits (52 solos, 16 assists). He also had an interception, a caused fumble, two recovered fumbles and 12 pass deflections last year.

Muchow was forced to miss the final three games of the season after suffering a knee injury but still had 46 stops (28 solos, 18 assists), 3.5 tackles for loss, a half-sack, a caused fumble and four quarterback pressures.

Four starters come back for the Colonels on offense led by second-team 1998 All-OVC guard Josh Hunter (6-3, 290). He graded out at 85 percent last season after being named first-team All-OVC in 1997. He will be joined in the line by tackle Charles Watkins, a 6-2, 283-pound senior.

Four starters return in the backfield for the Colonels, led by junior Corey Crume (6-0, 222) and senior Derick Logan (6-0, 220) who split time at tailback last season with the now-departed Brian Durham. Both Crume and Logan fought through injuries all season and had to each miss two games completely.

Logan led the way for the Colonels in '98 with 556 yards in 110 carries with one TD, while Crume, a first team pre-season All-OVC selection for 1999, was just behind with 543 yards in 116 carries with six TD's.

Also back for his junior season is quarterback Waylon Chapman who made the most of his one starting assignment in 1998 in the season's finale against Eastern Illinois. He connected with wide receiver Rondel Menendez on a 26-yard touchdown pass with 34 seconds left to give the Colonels a come-from-behind 28-24 win over the Panthers and perpetuate Eastern's streak of 26 consecutive non-losing seasons as Eastern Kentucky closed '98 with a 6-5 overall record.

On the season, Chapman hit 17-41 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns. His main competition for the starter's post should come from junior redshirt Chad Collins who had two-year career totals at Orange Coast College (CA) of 209-380 passes for 2,502 yards and 15 TD's.

Eastern opens its 1999 season Sept. 2 with a 7:00 p.m. game at Roy Kidd Stadium against Kentucky State University.

Orders for tickets to EKU's five-game home schedule are now being accepted at the EKU Athletics Ticket Office in Room 126 of Alumni Coliseum from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. weekdays. Tickets may also be purchased by phoning the ticket office at 606-622-2122 or 1-800-262-7493 (inside Kentucky).