Aug. 23, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. -- The ODU Football Monarchs continued installing more plays with Monday morning's workouts.
"We put some new things in as we continued to install our package," said head coach Bobby Wilder following Monday's practice. "We worked again today on the redzone, worked on first down situations, and then at the end of the practice on third downs. We are still getting things in and still installing. There was a lot of progress today."
During third down reps a number of defensive Monarchs got into the mix to stop the offense from advancing, including a number of rookies looking to make a case for the depth chart. Safety Paul Morant (Hampton, Va.) had an interception on a pass intended for Nick Mayers (Va. Beach, Va.), while fellow classmate Rodney Hunter (Alpharetta, Ga.) had a hand out to tip Dominique Blackman's (Los Angeles, Calif.) pass and have it fall into the hands of defensive tackle Chad King (Springfield, Va.) for another interception. Cornerback Aaron Evans (Newport News, Va.) also registered a pass break-up thwarting an intended pass for returning leading receiver Reid Evans (Hampton, Va.).
Also coming up with a defensive stop during third down drills was defensive tackle Ronnie Cameron (Westbury, N.Y.), who managed to stop a surging Mario Crawford (Detroit, Mich.) and pushed him back for negative yardage.
Offensively speaking, Crawford, Blackman, and newcomer Colby Goodwyn (Hampton, Va.) all found gaps to move the chains for a first down. In particular, Blackman and Goodwyn all made dashes up the middle finding the holes in the d-line. Tight end Kai Blanco (Alexandria, Va.) also wrestled his way past the defense for another first down for the offense on a catch.
With the specials teams unit, the Monarchs worked on kickoffs, in particular, kickoffs following a safety.
MONARCH MOMENTS:
CHANGE IN PLANS:
The Monarchs were originally going to have a two-a-day tomorrow with a scrimmage in the evening, but now the squad will hold one practice on Tuesday morning and another on Wednesday morning.
STILL WANT TO SEE A SCRIMMAGE:
Big Blue Club members have a chance for an up-close look at the 2010 ODU Football Monarchs in their final preseason scrimmage. If you haven't already signed up, there is a special opportunity to meet head coach Bobby Wilder and his coaching staff and to be the first to know about the team's plans for the upcoming football season on Aug 28th. For questions or to place an order over the phone, call Kelly Stallings at the Big Big Club at 757-683-6961.
STUDENTS - SAVE THE DATE:
Student tickets for the ODU football game Sept. 4th game with Jacksonville will be made available at the Constant Center Box Office beginning on Monday, August 30th at 7 a.m. with line-up beginning at the box office at 6 a.m. NO camping out will be permitted. Students must present a valid ODU student ID. Limited guest tickets are available at $15 per ticket and limited to one per student.
THERE'S A REASON HE LED THE FCS:
Punter Jonathan Plisco, who led the FCS in punting last year, had a 60-yard boot today in camp.
ON THE FLIP SIDE:
The Flip Cam caught up with head coach Bobby Wilder to talk about special teams today.
On The Flip Side will catch up with coach again to further preview the 2010 Monarchs. Just remember, once the season starts, you'll have to subscribe to Monarch All-Access for your football video fix of ODU football this fall.