March 21, 2002

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -With spring break looming, Samford's lackluster scrimmage on Thursday prompted Head Coach Bill Gray to remind the Bulldogs that there is plenty of work to be done. That's when he told them he'd see them on the practice field Friday afternoon.

Samford went through an hour and a half of live action, where Gray says he saw some good and some bad. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, there was not enough good to get an early start on spring break.

"We made some plays today, but I definitely saw spring break on their minds," said Gray. "I thought the defense won the first half, and the offense came back and won the second.

"Much of this spring has been about creating a mindset that being on this team takes a lot of hard work and focus on what we're trying to accomplish. Injuries have given us some problems to address and limited us today, but there were some bright spots as well."

Gray praised the play of linebacker Derrick Wheeler and defensive end Blake Hall, but pointed to the Bulldogs' weakness along the offensive and defensive fronts. Gray also liked the play of the offense when mixing in his mobile quarterbacks.

"We give ourselves much better chances offensively when we can use the mobility of our quarterbacks," Gray added. "I've heard Coach Tillette talk about how his team's margin of error is very small, and we're in exactly the same boat. With our offense, it all starts up front, and right now in key positions we are far from where we need to be. Because of that, today we were very `perimeter' in our plays."

Samford will practice Friday afternoon and then take next week off for spring break. The Bulldogs still have three practice days remaining when they return on April 1.