Aug. 21, 2008
Norfolk, Va. - Day seven of the Old Dominion University preseason football camp saw the Monarchs concentrate on special teams in the morning session, while the afternoon session was reserved for a scrimmage between the offensive and defensive units.
The Monarch defense struck first in the opening series when after surrendering a first down, cornerback T.J. Cowart stepped in front of a pass by Bobby Cooper and picked it off, returning it 30 yards to fire up the defensive unit dressed in all white.
Two more turnovers plagued the ODU offense before it could get things going. A fumbled snap by quarterback Dan Pitts was recovered by Chris Burnette and Andrew Slebonick also picked up a fumble by quarterback Tommy Reamon who was sacked on the fifth play of his first series under center.
However, Reamon quickly bounced back when on the ensuing play he connected with Teyron Burden for a 60-yard gain down to the defense's 19-yard line. Five plays later Reamon rumbled in from four yards out for a score after not finding an open receiver.
After having drives stall at the defensive 36 and 44-yard lines, Reamon and the offense responded with a 10-play, 40-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard run off the right side by Hykeem Brodie. All but one yard during the drive came on the ground.
Brodie and Jamar Parham got behind the offensive line and led the offense to another scoring drive on the following possession, this one covering 73 yards. At just 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, Parham was impressive on the day showing a combination of speed and toughness. He finished the day with nine carries for 40 yards with three rushes of over 10 yards, catching the attention of head coach Bobby Wilder.
"My biggest concern is his size, but what I like is that he's quick on the first read and he hits the hole and goes. Right now he's our most productive running back," said Wilder.
The drive and the scrimmage ended as Cooper hit Alex Arain for a 13-yard touchdown pass on a fade route in the left corner of the end zone as Arain out jumped cornerback Ricky Nichols for the ball.
Defensively Alex Turner had a big day from his end position recording seven tackles, including a tackle for loss. The speedy Turner forced the quarterbacks to give the ball up on the zone read and then chased down the back on several occasions and tracked down Reamon from the backside on another.
Cooper threw for 52 yards completing 5-of-6 attempts with a touchdown and an interception, while Reamon was 3-for-5 for 68 yards with 23 yards rushing on six carries and a score. The hard running Brodie finished with 15 attempts for 57 yards, 36 coming on his final four carries.
The Monarchs return to the practice field tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m.