ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State Thursday held its third workout in full pads and one of the longest sessions of its preseason workouts, according to head coach Buddy Pough.
“It was one of those 'get-after you' practices,” Pough said. “It was very intense and we had a lot of players out there working hard.
Pough, who is in his tenth year as SC State head coach, lamented the fact, however, that some key Bulldog players were missing workouts due to various injuries or conditions. Approximately 10 Bulldogs were held out of Thursday evening's drill.
“It's a little bit hard to tell exactly where we are,” continued Pough “Because we are having a hard time getting enough people in certain groups on the field to practice. And, it makes it difficult because we have a lot of new ingredients.
“There are two groups that really need to be able to work together because they have to be in synch, and that's the offensive line and the defensive secondary. In both cases, we have quite a few players missing, so that makes it a little bit scary because you are making adjustments and have a lot of new people. You have to play the backups to the backups and that makes it a little hard to get them to understand.”
He later pointed out that it was not terribly unusual to have 10 or more players on the sideline, but noted that it's pass the point where the Bulldogs have to establish their depth chart. Saturday's first scheduled scrimmage should help in getting this accomplished, he said.
SC State will be back on the field Friday for a two-a-day session, with the morning practice set for 9 and the evening workout at 7.
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