Defensive line positions coming into focus for Hawks

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team's first scrimmage of the preseason went about as expected on Saturday.

The Hawks showed glimpses of potential on both sides of the ball as well as a need to continue working and improving.

"This was only our sixth day out here, so it's still really early," Huntingdon head coach Mike Turk said. "There were some good things on both sides of the ball and a lot of mistakes on both sides of the ball. As we started to get tired, we started to get sloppy.

"Basically, it was what you expect from a first scrimmage. But this is going to give us a good idea of where we are and where we need to go from here."

Turk said the Hawks are seeing good progress on the defensive line. The unit features seven players that have seen game action, but is the least experienced group on defense. While Huntingdon returns three starters at linebacker and three starters in the secondary, the Hawks' four primary starting defensive lineman in 2012 were seniors.

The 2012 group included D.J. Chappell (Huntingdon's first All-American), Courtney Moss, Brandon Van Camp and Zach Elkins. The four combined for 85 tackles for loss (for 342 yards) and 46 sacks for 238 yards during their Huntingdon careers.

"Anytime you lose all four of your defensive linemen, that's tough. The group we had last year was pretty special," Turk said. "But as we always say, it's not about what you've lost, it's about what you have coming back. We do have a number of guys coming back that have helped us win some games. That is encouraging."

Senior Cordarryl Jones and junior Blake Lawley lead the way at defensive end and sophomores Jacob Wright and Phillip Bagley are also dependable options. On the inside, senior Zack Davis and juniors Derick Bothwell and Walker Lewis are each battling for the two starting positions.

Jones led the seven with three sacks and seven tackles for loss last season and Lawley was the leading tackler with 19 stops in 2012. As a group they combined for 60 tackles, 5.5 sacks and 16.5 tackles for loss last season.

"It's nice to have guys like this that have played for us and have been part of some wins because they understand what is expected. We're going to be counting on their experience," Turk said. "We do need to develop some more depth up front and find some guys that can rotate in and play. We like to play a lot of guys on the defensive line and we've got to find some guys that can help us in the rotation."

Turk said newcomer Robert Marshall (6-foot-4, 352 pounds) is making progress and has the potential to make an impact.

"He's a big guy who is working to learn our system and get in shape right now," Turk said. "If he continues to work and develop, he's a guy that could help us out."

The Hawks will practice again at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday before taking Monday off for the first day of classes.