Huntingdon football wraps up second day of preseason practice

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team closed out its second day of preseason practice on Friday.

Head coach Mike Turk said the thing he is most impressed with so far is the physical condition of his team. While not in playing shape yet, Turk said the majority of the team reported in shape.

"It's really still too early to tell and we haven't had a really hot day yet, but we appear to be ahead of where we've been at this time in some previous years," Turk said. "We're going to have to build on that because we're not in shape to play a game yet, but we're making it through practice, getting all of our reps and not missing time because of fatigue. That's big."

Turk said the reps are especially important for Huntingdon's linebackers and offensive linemen. With graduation leaving several holes at those positions, Turk said the Hawks are looking to see who is ready to step in and fill those holes.

"We've got some kids at those positions that seem to be catching on to what we're trying to do," Turk said. "It appears we have some players that know what to do at those positions and that's encouraging at this point.

"But everything changes tomorrow when it becomes football again and we put on the shoulder pads. Right now, when we're in shorts and helmets, it's more about knowing what to do than anything else. We'll know a lot more as we move forward and put on the pads."

The Hawks will practice in shorts and shoulder pads on Saturday and Sunday before putting on full gear for the first time on Monday. Saturday's practice is scheduled for 9 a.m. with Sunday's practice set for 3 p.m. Practices are open to the public.