ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State held its third spring football practice Saturday, the first in shorts and shoulder pads for the Bulldogs. During the approximately two-hour workout, Coach Buddy Pough's team continued to concentrate on installation of the schemes SC State plans to employ this fall.

Pough said his players continue to move around well and demonstrate a lot of hustle, however, he noted that the first practice in shoulder pads was a bit raggard at times, something he felt could be corrected with repetition.

“It was a good first day in should pads,” Pough said. “A lot of players continue to move around well, I see a lot of hustle but we need to do a better job on procedures. The players just need to keep working at it, keep their heads up and pay attention in order to improve.

“But, a lot of guys are giving great effort and the staff is certainly excited about that. There is a lot of intensity, especially on defense which at times has swarmed the offense. But that's a good thing. Anytime you are very effective on one side of the football, it makes the other side work harder to be more productive.”

Pough also noted that the battle to replace three-year starter Malcolm Long at quarterback was still evolving between the Wiley brothers – Derrick and Tedarrius – and Richard Cue. Derrick Wiley, a redshirt junior, is the only one of the three with any game experience.

“Whoever steps into the starting role will be determined by which one has best grip on the schemes we want to use and which one shows that he can run the team,” said Pough. “We have one that can run better than he can throw, one that can throw it a little bit better than he can run and one in between. How well they progress and adjust to what we are trying to do will be the determining factor.”

SC State will return to the field Sunday at 4 p.m. and will workout in full pads for the first time, according to Pough.
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