University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Scrimmages During Eighth Practice of Spring Wednesday
4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 1, 2009
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss football team went over the halfway mark of the spring football practice schedule here Wednesday afternoon with its eighth workout at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
After working over individual periods, the Golden Eagles went through special team drills that included some work on the punting team, before using the last half of practice to scrimmage. Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora said that quarterbacks Austin Davis and Bret Jefcoat were seeing working at punter this spring, as well as specialists Justin Estes, Dylan Lanphere and Daniel Hrapmann.
"We are looking at a lot of different ways to keep the defense honest," said Fedora.
The Golden Eagles then went through the scrimmage portion of the practice and began starting series at their own 40, as well as the opponent's 25 and in goal-line situations at the four before ending the day with a two-minute drill.
"We got a lot of plays in (today)," added Fedora. "The 1s got 45 plays and the 2s got 37 plays. The defense got after it and did a great job today."
Terrance Conner and Deddrick Jones each tallied sacks for the defense during the scrimmage, while Roshaad Byrd, C.J. Bailey, Hendrick Leverette and Conner each collected passes broken up. Darius Barnes and Jeremy Snowden added tackles for loss.
Desmond Johnson led the Golden Eagle offense by tallying 75 yards on 13 rushes with a 10-yard scoring run, while V.J. Floyd led the offense with 74 yards rushing on 19 carries.
Quarterback Martevious Young converted 2-for-6 passes for 26 yards and a 13-yard scoring toss to Leroy Banks, while Davis added 6-of-14 attempts for 23 yards and Jefcoat added 5-of-6 completions for 45 yards. The redshirt freshman also added a one-yard touchdown run.
The offense then scored on both goal-line drives as Davis bootlegged on 4th-and-1 to score from one-yard out and Young hit Banks for a scoring strike in the right flat.
Southern Miss returns to the practice field, Friday, with a late-afternoon workout. Season tickets for the 2009 campaign are available by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) as well as online at SouthernMiss.com, or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Athletic Ticket Office from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The Southern Miss Athletics Department is giving a highlight DVD of the 2008 season to fans that join or renew their Eagle Club donation, as well as making their season ticket and spring game ticket purchases prior to or on Apr. 18, the date of this year's annual Black and Gold Spring Game. The priority deadline is May 1.
