With the Eagles still donning their inside-out jerseys, it was a little hard for the 100 or so fans packed around the sidelines of Beautiful Eagle Creek to know who was who. But there was little confusion on the field where Georgia Southern’s offense looked sharp during its first spring scrimmage Saturday morning. The unit is ahead of schedule with learning its new scheme, the Hatch Attack.
“We’ve got a group of offensive guys that have picked up the system faster than at previous stops I’ve been at,” first-year coach Chris Hatcher said. “You can only do what your quarterback can handle and right now Travis Clark has a good command of our offense, so that’s enabled us to do a little more than I anticipated this early in the spring.”
Clark, who started as a sophomore last year, threw for 93 yards Saturday, and two touchdowns.
“Coach Hatcher and all the coaches are making it very simple for us to put the plays in,” Clark said. “They are being patient with us as we learn the new system, and it’s coming along very well. We looked really smooth today.”
Senior running back/receiver Jayson Foster also said the offense is a little ahead of where he expected.
“The playbook is not as hard as I thought it would be,” he said. “We are just playing fast right now and slowly putting the offense in. Offensively, we are feeling great. There’s a lot of speed out here. Everyone knew the plays for the most part. We played fast-paced and had a lot of points today, so it looks bright for us.”
The defense started slow but picked it up towards the middle and finished strong during goal-line drills.
“That was good to see,” Hatcher said of the defense’s late showing. “When they got their backs against the wall, they bowed up a little bit, and that was one positive to really take away from the scrimmage as far as the defense goes.”
Defensive back Chris Covington, last year’s leading rusher, intercepted a Clark pass and returned it for a touchdown.
“It’s always nice to get in the end zone,” Covington said. “It’s a little different from this side of the ball. It still felt real good.”
With the new coaching staff there is clearly a more relaxed atmosphere around Beautiful Eagle Creek these days, a setting the players say they are enjoying.
“Everyday we come out, it’s not like a job you are coming to do, you almost feel like a little kid playing football in the backyard all over again,” Covington said. “It’s a real fun experience.”
As has happened several times already this spring, a couple of brief fights broke out during the morning workout.
“It’s just guys being intense and getting caught up in the moment,” Covington said. “We’ve got a good policy. Everybody understands it’s a one-on-one thing, and when it’s over, it’s over. We don’t take it into the locker room. It’s over out here.”
Hatcher praised the team’s intensity and ability to make plays on offense, but said the defense needed to improve its tackling.
“It was the first day we’ve really gone to the ground, but we are hustling and working hard,” Hatcher said. “We are only (six days into practice) with a whole new scheme and a whole new staff, so I think we are in pretty good shape right now at this point in the spring. Defensively, we’ve just got to pick up the intensity. That’s something that’s concerning right now. We’ve got to get a little bit better on that side of the ball.”
Clark is currently the team’s No. 1 quarterback but is being pushed by Kyle Collins, Chris Griffin and Jeremiah Enloe. During workouts last fall Clark was clearly the top quarterback and had very little competition in practice.
“It’s always good to have competition,” Clark said. “That’s what you come out here to play for. That’s what’s happening out here at every position. The defense is pushing everybody, the offense is pushing everybody — that’s the whole thing about playing football.”
The Eagles resume spring workouts Monday around 3:20 p.m.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
“We’ve got a group of offensive guys that have picked up the system faster than at previous stops I’ve been at,” first-year coach Chris Hatcher said. “You can only do what your quarterback can handle and right now Travis Clark has a good command of our offense, so that’s enabled us to do a little more than I anticipated this early in the spring.”
Clark, who started as a sophomore last year, threw for 93 yards Saturday, and two touchdowns.
“Coach Hatcher and all the coaches are making it very simple for us to put the plays in,” Clark said. “They are being patient with us as we learn the new system, and it’s coming along very well. We looked really smooth today.”
Senior running back/receiver Jayson Foster also said the offense is a little ahead of where he expected.
“The playbook is not as hard as I thought it would be,” he said. “We are just playing fast right now and slowly putting the offense in. Offensively, we are feeling great. There’s a lot of speed out here. Everyone knew the plays for the most part. We played fast-paced and had a lot of points today, so it looks bright for us.”
The defense started slow but picked it up towards the middle and finished strong during goal-line drills.
“That was good to see,” Hatcher said of the defense’s late showing. “When they got their backs against the wall, they bowed up a little bit, and that was one positive to really take away from the scrimmage as far as the defense goes.”
Defensive back Chris Covington, last year’s leading rusher, intercepted a Clark pass and returned it for a touchdown.
“It’s always nice to get in the end zone,” Covington said. “It’s a little different from this side of the ball. It still felt real good.”
With the new coaching staff there is clearly a more relaxed atmosphere around Beautiful Eagle Creek these days, a setting the players say they are enjoying.
“Everyday we come out, it’s not like a job you are coming to do, you almost feel like a little kid playing football in the backyard all over again,” Covington said. “It’s a real fun experience.”
As has happened several times already this spring, a couple of brief fights broke out during the morning workout.
“It’s just guys being intense and getting caught up in the moment,” Covington said. “We’ve got a good policy. Everybody understands it’s a one-on-one thing, and when it’s over, it’s over. We don’t take it into the locker room. It’s over out here.”
Hatcher praised the team’s intensity and ability to make plays on offense, but said the defense needed to improve its tackling.
“It was the first day we’ve really gone to the ground, but we are hustling and working hard,” Hatcher said. “We are only (six days into practice) with a whole new scheme and a whole new staff, so I think we are in pretty good shape right now at this point in the spring. Defensively, we’ve just got to pick up the intensity. That’s something that’s concerning right now. We’ve got to get a little bit better on that side of the ball.”
Clark is currently the team’s No. 1 quarterback but is being pushed by Kyle Collins, Chris Griffin and Jeremiah Enloe. During workouts last fall Clark was clearly the top quarterback and had very little competition in practice.
“It’s always good to have competition,” Clark said. “That’s what you come out here to play for. That’s what’s happening out here at every position. The defense is pushing everybody, the offense is pushing everybody — that’s the whole thing about playing football.”
The Eagles resume spring workouts Monday around 3:20 p.m.
Alex Pellegrino can be reached at (912) 489-9413.
