Aug. 19, 2008
Norfolk, Va. – Day six of the Old Dominion University preseason football camp marked the first two-a-day session for the Monarchs and the morning practice belonged to quarterback Bobby Cooper.
When camp began Cooper was listed as the No. 2 quarterback behind Tommy Reamon, however he’s now working with the first team and Tuesday’s morning session gave an indication as to why. During the 1-on-1 period he continually hit receivers in stride on a variety of routes, including a beautifully thrown pass to Marvin “Trey” Bryant who had gotten behind Devon Simmons on a fade pattern.
Copper’s performance carried over to the 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions that followed. He completed 5-of-7 passes during the skeleton drill hitting a number of different receivers, and closed out practice going 3-of-4 (one dropped pass) with a touchdown pass to Teyron Burden in the intrasqaud scrimmage. Despite solid coverage from cornerback T.J. Cowart, Cooper drilled a pass into Burden on a slant route for the 14-yard score.
After practicing in full pads in the morning, the Monarchs were in shoulder pads and helmets for the afternoon session, their first on the new 100-yard AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D field. They had been limited to the 60-yard field for the first five days of camp. The defense rebounded with a solid effort to close out that day behind interceptions from Michael Colbert, Michael R. Williams, Jake Sweedyk and Ricky Nichols. Williams’ pick went for a 75-yard touchdown the other way as the defensive sideline erupted.
The Monarchs will practice tomorrow at 9 a.m..
A reminder that due to safety concerns ODU football practices are CLOSED to the public. Fans will have the opportunity to see the Monarch football team during one of the three scrimmages this fall.