Eagles Hold First Scrimmage of Fall Camp
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. — The first scrimmage started off with a bang for No. 9-ranked Carson-Newman College Friday morning. Senior quarterback Doug Belk (Valdosta, Ga.) reeled off a 30-yard run in the offense's first play. That was after drawing the defense offsides twice with a hard count.
"There were some bright spots and some good effort from some kids," Eagles head coach Ken Sparks said. "Now we just have to get the right 11 guys starting to form and doing what we need them to do."
Belk ran the first unit, but perhaps the most impressive day at quarterback came from sophomore Brandon Haywood (Rockmart, Ga.). Haywood led two scoring drives, the first capped with a 65-yard touchdown run from freshman Solomon Duanah (Johnson City, Tenn.). Haywood drew the defense in on an option to the left side, then tossed the pitch to Duanah who only had a handful of defenders to beat.
"Getting in the flow of a football game today was special," Haywood said. "The hitting was hard and the linebackers and defensive ends were crashing hard. It was a great rip (from Duanah). That's what we teach our running backs to do, hit the hole running full speed. Solomon did a great job off the line."
Haywood has been all over the field this offseason. After serving as the No. 3 quarterback behind departed senior Alex Good and Belk last season, Sparks has seen to it that Haywood has learned multiple positions. In the spring game, Haywood played defensive back. In early camp, the 5-11 sophomore has worked at wide receiver as well. Still, his focus and drive has been to line up behind center in the Eagles' high-powered offense.
"He (Haywood) is a quality kid and he wants to play," Sparks said. "We've bounced him around two or three times and we've worked him at cornerback and wide receiver. He called me over the summer and said, 'Coach, I've put some length on my arm and can I get another shot at quarterback?' It looks like he's going to take advantage of it."
With Belk already proven as a dangerous wide receiver (18 catches, 280 yards and four TDs in 2009), the quarterback position remains wide open. All the freshman signal callers got chances to run the offense, with Philip Juhlin (Maryville, Tenn.) making the most of his reps, tossing a 15-yard touchdown pass to fellow freshman Larry Smith (Johnson City, Tenn.).
"I thought Juhlin did a great job," Sparks said. "I saw some good stuff out of him. You can tell he's been coached pretty well. He's still battling inconsistency, but he's got a chance to play this year."
Sparks pointed out some good effort on defense from freshmen linebacker Jonathan Sites (Hendersonville, Tenn.) and freshmen defensive back Jaycob Coleman (Norton, Va.).
Senior linebacker Anthony McAlister (Knoxville, Tenn.), junior linebacker Ryan Helton (Tazewell, Tenn.), junior wide receiver Marcus Huie (Knoxville, Tenn.) and junior kicker Carlos Lopez (Seymour, Tenn.) were all held out of the scrimmage with minor injuries.
The Eagles will return to practice Saturday, Sunday and Monday before holding their second scrimmage of the fall on Tuesday morning at 8:50 a.m. at Burke-Tarr Stadium prior to C-N's annual media day.
