NORFOLK, Va. - Old Dominion University Football reached the halfway point of spring football practice with the eight practice of the spring Thursday morning at the L.R. Hill Sports Complex practice fields.
Practicing in full pads for the final time before the spring game, the Monarchs worked out for about an hour and 20 minutes, working on 7 on 7, team drills and kickoff coverage.
The highlights of practice included a 45-yard touchdown pass from Blake LaRussa to Travis Fulgham. The defense produced several big plays, including sacks from Oshane Ximines, Tim Ward and Mufu Taiwo, and a fumble recovery by Denzel Williams.
Opponent Outlook
ODUSports.com will take a look at each Monarch opponent for the 2017 season. Today we look at game seven, a home contest against WKU.
The Quick Facts - WKU
Location: Bowling Green, Ky.
Nickname: Hilltoppers
First Year of Football: 1908
Conference: C-USA
Head Coach: Mike Sanford Jr.
2016 Record: 11-3
The Game
The Monarchs will host WKU in the seventh game of the season.
About the Hilltoppers
Mike Sanford Jr. will make his return to WKU as head coach after leaving Notre Dame as the offensive coordinator for the last two seasons. Before Notre Dame, Sanford was the offensive coordinator at Boise State for a year and worked as a positions coach at Stanford for three years. In 2010, Sanford was the quarterbacks coach for WKU for one season.
The Hilltoppers finished last season at 11-3, including a win over Memphis in the Boca Raton Bowl.
WKU return quarterback Mike White who completed 280-of-416 passes for 4,363 yards and 37 touchdowns. Running back Quinton Baker carried the ball 99 times last season for 542 yards and four touchdowns.
Nacarius Fant and Lucky Jackson combined for 55 receptions for 802 yards and four touchdown receptions.
Joel Iyiegbuniwe returns as the team’s leading tackler last season. Iyiegbuniwe recorded 64 tackles, 10.0 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks. Chris Johnson had 43 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks last season.
Series History
WKU leads 3-0
In the first three years in CUSA, the Monarchs have struggled against WKU. The Monarchs fell 59-24 to WKU last season. In 2015, the Hilltoppers won 55-30 in Norfolk. WKU defeated the Monarchs 66-51 in 2014.