HAWKS PICK UP TEMPO ON DAY 3 OF TRAINING CAMP

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon College football team wasn't in full pads on Saturday, but just being in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts for the first time seemed to make a difference.

After a rough first two days in helmets and shorts, the Hawks were more energetic for their third practice.

Head coach Mike Turk's challenge to his players is to keep the intensity up.

"We got the pads on today and there was a little more enthusiasm," Turk said. "You expect that. The hard part about training camp is to stop the rollercoaster. You don't want to be up here one day, down here the next day and then back up here. The key is to steadily build and keep building on what you did the day before. We'll see how we respond on Sunday, but I'm pleased with the effort we had today."

The Hawks will return to W. James Samford Stadium on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. for their fourth preseason practice. Practice is open to the public.

This will be the Hawks' first afternoon practice.

"I'm sure it will be hotter, so it will be interesting to see how we handle that," Turk said. "We changed our practice format a little today to adapt to the heat and I think it helped us. We made it all the way through practice with a good tempo today.

"We treated practice like turning a switch. During team drills, we'd turn the switch on and let the returners work like crazy for 15 minutes or so. Then we'd turn the switch off, let the returners rest and let the young guys go for 10 or 15 minutes. That seemed to keep us fresh and helped us get more quality reps. I was pleased with how well they handled it."

Turk said he saw progress on both sides of the ball. The running back position is one area he was particularly impressed with.

"We have a lot of returning running backs that were contributors last year," Turk said. "There has been a lot of good carryover there, as far as recognition on pass protection and assignments. We haven't had a lot of mistakes at that position."

Turk singled out junior Trevor Manuel, senior Parker Roberts and senior Paul Mielke as the early leaders at running back.

"Those are our three top guys right now," Turk said. "They all have a little different style and things they do best, but they all know what to do.

"Then we have Garrett Fletcher and Cullen Milner, who were both JV players last year and they seem to be coming along. Just looking at depth and experience, that position should be one of the most solid ones we have on the team."