JONESBORO — Arkansas State completed its fall camp Saturday with a full-pads workout inside ASU Stadium.
"Overall, I was real pleased with fall camp," Coach Steve Roberts said. "It was as good as we have had since I have been here."
ASU will have today off before resuming practice Monday, when classes are scheduled to begin. The team will have six practices next week, including one Saturday that will be part of itsannual Fan Appreciation Day.
The Red Wolves will then go into game-week practices leading up to the season opener against Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 5 at ASU Stadium.
Saturday's practice included a final full-contact team period that focused on late-game situations. ASU also worked on several other phases, including various down-and-distance and red zone situations.
"I was pleased with some of the stuff we did defensively," Roberts said. "We did some stuff well offensively. We just weren't sharp enough, and we've got to get better." CENTRAL ARKANSAS
Conque conflicted
CONWAY - Central Arkansas Coach Clint Conque was relieved and perturbed Saturday.
He was relieved the Bears' offense showed some consistencymoving the football in the team's final scrimmage before breaking camp today, but he was upset that it committed numerous penalties in a scripted scrimmage of about 50 plays.
"We just can't make the kinds of mistakes that we made today and expect to win football games," Conque said after the roughly two-hour scrimmage. "We cannot overcome first-and-15 on a consistent basis."
Starting quarterback Robbie Park completed 13 of 19 passes for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. Conque said he was happy to see several receivers produce just a couple of days after it was announced the team's top receiver, junior Willie Landers, would miss the entire season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Another of the Bears' leading returning receivers, junior Darrius McNeal, will miss the first game and a half because of a suspension.
Senior receiver Preston Echols, junior tight end Rico Moss and freshman receiver Dominique Croom each caught touchdown passes Saturday.
"I thought we did a good job of catching the football," Conque said.
All-Southland Conference defensive ends Larry Hart and Taylor Scott were held out for precautionary reasons. Nose guard Uriah Perry, who started every game in 2007 before sitting out last season after being suspended, was limited to a few snaps also as a precaution.
"Those three guys really don't have anything left to prove," Conque said.
- Nick Walker
Sports, Pages 26 on 08/23/2009