Aug. 11, 2008

MEMPHIS, TENN. - The Tiger football team had another early morning practice on Monday and finished the session with an 82-play scrimmage at the Murphy Athletic Complex.

Head coach Tommy West was pleased with the intensity of the defense and was disappointed in the offense which had several turnovers.

"There were a lot of mistakes, way too many mistakes offensively," said West. "I am really shocked we put the ball on the ground twice, a quarterback and a back put the ball on the ground and we had a couple of picks. We have to get that corrected. I thought we were poor in the offensive line, and disappointing from an intensity level. I didn't think we came to play up front offensively and it showed."

Quarterback Arkelon Hall was under center for the first series and opened the scrimmage with an eight-yard completion to Steven Black. Hall busted off a three-yard run on the next play and handed the ball off for a nine-yard run to Maurice Jones on third down. Curtis Steele had his first carry of the day for a two-yard gain, and Hall followed the play with a five-yard completion to Cam Baker. Steele lost a yard and the drive stalled on the next play because of offensive pass interference.

Will Hudgens came in on the next drive and opened with a completion to Steven Joachim for no gain. Defensive lineman Steven Turner registered a TFL of three yards on a Charlie Jones carry, but the defense had its first costly penalty on third down with a holding call to bring up first down. Jones busted off an eight-yard run on the next play, and Hudgens was stopped for a three-yard loss by Jeremy Longstreet. The drive ended on an incomplete pass with defensive coverage by Curtis Echols.

The long reception of the day came on the next drive when Hall connected with Carlos Singleton for a 14-yard gain. He also had a six-yard completion to Earnest Williams and a run of seven yards. The drive ended with a highlight for the defense with a blocked Hall punt and a recovery for a TD return by Winston Bowens.

Hudgens completed two passes of nine and seven yards to Steven Black on the next series that also saw the first action by running back Brandon Washington. Washington had runs of one, six and four yards, and ended the day with 10 carries for 41 yards.

The defense stopped the next two drives quickly, including a pass breakup by Michael Grandberry and a forced fumble by Tony Bell, who hit Hall on a five-yard run. Hudgens came in and managed a nine-yard completion to Steven Joachim and a four-yard strike to Brian Hall before the defense rolled off four straight tackles for lost yardage. Charlie Bryant stopped Steele for a five-yard loss, D.A. Griffin dropped Hudgens for a four-yard loss and Mike Shepard stopped Steele for minus four. Griffin intercepted Hudgens on the next play, but it turned out to be a no-play because the defense lined up offsides. Joel McCleod registered the final TFL of the drive, pushing Hudgens back for minus seven yards.

Defensive lineman Jada Brown recovered a Steele fumble on the next series and newcomer Clay Lee registered an interception on a pass by Hudgens. Other defensive highlights on the day included sacks by Winston Bowens, LeRico Mathis and McCleod, and a tipped pass by Corey Mills.

The offense produced a couple of long gains in the final 25 plays of the scrimmage, including a 20-yard TD run by Hudgens and a 35-yard run by Maurice Jones. Hall completed an 11-yard pass to Baker and Washington had a single run of 17 yards.

"I thought that defensively, our intensity was good," added West. "We still have learning to get in the right places. Overall, I liked the intensity defensively. The only thing that hurt on defense today were penalties. We had them stopped on third down twice and had penalties that resulted in first downs."

Hall finished the day 11-of-21 for 70 yards, while Hudgens was 8-of-13 for 41 yards and one pick. Black caught the most passes, totaling four receptions for 37 yards. Singleton tallied two catches for 24 yards and Baker registered two catches for 16 yards. On the ground, Washington posted 11 carries for 47 yards while Charlie Jones totaled six carries for 16 yards. Maurice Jones had two runs for a total of 44 yards, including a long of 35 yards. Hudgens carried the ball seven times for 11 yards and a TD.