ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State continued preseason football workouts Friday morning with a two-hour practice in full pads. The practice was one of the more enjoyable ones of the preseason  for Bulldog head coach Buddy Pough, who said his team got a lot done and that the weather was cooperative.

“We got a lot of things done,” Pough said. “Our players were really into it and the weather was good. I'm excited about where we are but I know we have got a lot of work ahead of us. We did a lot of things well and a few things not so well but things are beginning to come together.”

In addition to team-style drills, the Bulldogs continued their focus on special teams, an area that has become a bit of a concern for Pough and his staff, following a Thursday night injury to top placekicker and punter Nick Belcher, who was widely thought to step into the shoes of departed specialist Blake Erickson, who was the starting placekicker and punter for SC State for four seasons. Belcher's injury is being evaluated, according to Pough.

“We are still trying to find our way in some instances (as it relates to special teams), but we appear to be moving in the right direction in identifying people who will be able to help us in those roles (on special teams) in which we need them.”
Pough noted that his squad was not quite at the point on offense that he and his staff would like, but he added that they were beginning to emphasize the lead guys on that side of the ball that they would be depending on this season.

“We made some big steps on offense, but we are a little bit behind where we'd like to be,” he said. “But now that we have the offense installed, we can go about the task of refining it.”

Pough also addressed the team's depth on defense, where the squad is without most of last year's leaders in the secondary and at linebacker.

“We seem to be developing some depth on defense, especially in the secondary,” he said. “We don't have the numbers in our linebacker corps but that group is playing well. Now, we need to get the defensive line going.”
The Bulldogs will have a 10 a.am. walk-through Saturday to prep for their 7 p.m. scrimmage, the first of the preseason.
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