FAYETTEVILLE -- With a record number of players in tow, Fayetteville got right to work Monday in the first practice of the football preseason.
The Bulldogs had 157 players dressed out for practice Monday, and a few more could be expected in the coming days. That number is the most all time at Fayetteville to begin preseason workouts, and coach Daryl Patton was impressed by what he saw from the entire group.
"We had a lot of kids flying around; there was a lot of enthusiasm and attitude," Patton said. "It was great to be back out there for fall camp. It's like I told the kids, spring ball is over with, 7-on-7 ball is over with and the summer is over with. Now we're playing for real, and I thought our kids did a great job of doing what we asked them to do.
"They retained a lot from over the summer, and I thought we got better from the spring to the summer. So it's exciting, and hopefully we can come back out here (Tuesday) with another good day in the T-shirts and shorts."
Fayetteville worked out for two and a half hours Monday morning, focusing on individual position drills as well as special teams. Senior team captain and three-year starting defensive end Damani Carter noted the atmosphere around the first practice was that of a team hungry to get back to work.
"We've been waiting for a long time to do this," Carter said. "We had a lot of guys focused, a lot of guys flying around even though we can't hit yet. So I was real happy with our first practice."
The Bulldogs have three weeks before an Aug. 25 preseason scrimmage at home against Class 6A power Greenwood. Between then and now, several position battles and questions about depth at certain spots will need to be addressed. No position will be watched more closely over the next two weeks than quarterback, where junior Jack Lindsey and sophomore Taylor Powell are in a head-to-head competition for the job.
Patton said one priority in the week leading up to the Greenwood scrimmage will be to name a starting quarterback, giving the two signal callers two more weeks to show off what they can do.
"When we start school on the 18th, we'll have a starting quarterback and a backup quarterback," Patton said. "Both of them have shown great things, and right now, it's really too close to call. But like I told our quarterbacks, I've had two quarterbacks before, and it's not worked out as well as I'd hoped. So we want to have a starter.
"Both quarterbacks will help us, and both of them will play in the first three games but I just think it will help us to know."
Fayetteville works out from 8:30 to 11 a.m. every day this week through Friday. After another T-shirt and helmets practice today, the Bulldogs will put on shoulder pads Wednesday through Friday before switching to full pads next week.
Sports on 08/05/2014