Bucs pick up pace in second spring scrimmage
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Blue and Gold Spring Game is still a week away, but on Friday, the Bucs strapped up for their second official scrimmage of the spring slate.
Former ETSU head football coach Randy Sanders was among those in attendance on a blustery afternoon.
The defense picked up where it left off last Saturday, flocking to the ball and forcing a pair of punts early.
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“I think we played real fast,” senior defensive back Chris Hope said. “Obviously, we had a few mistakes, and we’re going to get those cleaned up. But, as a team I thought we played pretty good.”
“They’re playing fast and they’re playing hard,” head coach Tre Lamb said afterwards. “Defense is all about that.”
“A lot of these guys – four or five guys – are running with our ones right now that were on the defense last year,” he continued. “There was a lot of talent here on that side of the ball. They’re doing a really nice job and we’ve mixed some transfers in with them.”
The top offensive units, however, also had more success finding the endzone than in the first scrimmage.
Sophomore quarterback Jaylen King escaped the pocket to his right on a third down play, hitting Travien Watson down the sideline. The freshman wideout carried the ball more than 50 yards into the endzone for the first score.
King also led a second scoring drive later in the scrimmage, firing a quick pass to running back Trey Foster. The redshirt-junior broke one tackle on his way in for a score.
“We’re getting a better rhythm going on on the offensive end – just tempo-wise and getting lined up,” graduate tight end Cameron Lewis said of the performance. “You know, we’re just working out the kinks now – and I feel like we definitely made a big stride coming into the second week.”
“For the most part, we’re doing better on first down,” Lamb said. “We were able to stay between the chains and get some more touchdowns on the board.”
Lamb addressed his team at midfield following the scrimmage, impressing upon them the importance of these final four practices of the spring slate.
“We can’t get complacent,” he said. “We have to come out here on Tuesday after a long weekend and make sure we get after it and have the same mentality we do on Saturday’s in the fall. You can’t take days off in this league – you can’t take days off in college football. Teams are too good.”
The Blue and Gold Spring Game is set to kickoff from William B. Greene Jr. Stadium at 7 p.m. next Friday. Admission will be free for all fans.
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