HUNTINGDON FOOTBALL PLAYERS REPORT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Huntingdon College head football coach Mike Turk and his staff welcomed their players to training camp on Wednesday.

A total of 150 players reported, just short of the 160 the Hawks were expecting. The group included 82 newcomers.

"We knew it would be a big group and we've been preparing for this," Turk said. "We're going to have our practices organized so that we can get plenty of repetitions.

"This time of year is important for us. During the first week of camp, we've got to be able to evaluate what we have, find out what these guys can do and begin developing our depth chart."

The Hawks will hit the field for their first practice on Thursday at 9 a.m. Practice is open to the public.

"There is only so much you can do in shorts and helmets the first few days," Turk said. "The main priority is to get back in the routine, gauge our retention level from last season and begin to move forward."

The Hawks originally planned to hold their first practice on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. With the repeated outbreak of afternoon storms this week, the first practice was moved to the morning in an effort to avoid any weather delays.    

If the weather presents problems during training camp, Turk should have one less worry with the Hawks' new Sportexe turf.

"There are so many advantages to having this new field," Turk said. "Aside from the fact that it looks great and everyone is excited about it, there is a more practical reason. With the amount of rain we had on Monday and Tuesday, in the past our field would have been soft and difficult to work on. I can't tell you how many days of practice we've lost in the past because of a downpour.

"Now, with this field, it's ready to go almost as soon as it stops raining. This field is a big deal for us."