April 16, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - The Western Kentucky University football team faced live action for the third time this spring on Wednesday, holding its second mini-scrimmage at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field.
Western began working 1st-and-10 drills deep in their own territory, with Casey Rooney taking a majority of the snaps with the first unit, and Reggie Dent holding down the backfield on both squads. The offense was able pick up the first down on two of three possessions, converting a third-and-four situation on the first drive. After a defensive held on the second series, Dent was able to get the offense out of the shadow of its endzone with a three-yard burst, then exploded up the middle for 12 and a first down.
"Reggie really showed some flashes of good things throughout the day," said first-year head coach David Elson. "But, just like the rest of our team right now, there is a lot of inconsistency. As a team, our mental toughness isn't where it needs to be at this point on both sides of the ball."
Next, the offense moved to the other side of the field, beginning drives inside the defense's 30. As the defense forced some third-and-long situations, both Rooney and Perez Smith took several snaps out of the shotgun with varying degrees of success. While the defense was able to hold both units without a first down early in the drill, both quarterbacks were able to pick up yardage hitting receivers on out-routes, while also scrambling for five to six-yard at a time.
"We know we're a good running team," added Elson. "We need to spend more time in the next couple weeks on our passing game. We need both our quarterbacks to take more reps out of the shotgun to get their timing down so we can get that balanced attack we're going for."
Dent set up the lone scoring opportunity of the scrimmage, breaking a first-down play up the middle for 23 yards down to the four. The defense was able to rise up, however, stopping the second team on four consecutive plays, stuffing two runs from inside the one.
While Elson looks for more consistency from his club, getting a full squad on the field before the end of the spring is another goal.
"We're getting better. The gap between our offense and defense is starting to close. That's the fun of spring practice; when you're playing against guys that know the system, any amount of success is good," said Elson. "We just need to get some guys healthy. We have a lot of people fighting through some pain and soreness that we need to try to get back on the field."
The Toppers will get back to work Friday, going through drills at 3:30 (CDT) on Feix Field. WKU will then hold its second two-hour scrimmage of the spring on Saturday at 10 a.m. Admission to Saturday's scrimmage at L.T. Smith Stadium is free, with the public encouraged to attend.
- WKU -
