Huntingdon opens preseason football practice

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team opened preseason camp with a practice in shorts and helmets on Thursday morning.

Head coach Mike Turk said there were typical first-day issues, but overall it was a good start. While the pace of practice was a little slow on the first day, Turk said he expects that to improve in the coming days.

"We have a lot of guys back and that is a plus. That means we have a lot of guys out here that should understand the practice progression and should be moving around and being where they're supposed to be. But the reality is, when you have 70-plus newcomers, there are still a lot of guys that don't know," Turk said. "So that tends to slow practice.

"Practice was very slow today. It was not nearly as quick and crisp as I would like it to be or as we need it to be. But that is a matter of us getting in the routine of knowing what to do and how to do it. Once we get to that point, everything will pick up."

Huntingdon is coming off a 10-2 season and a trip to the second round of the NCAA playoffs. With eight starters back on offense and six starter returning on defense, the defending USA South Athletic Conference champions are ranked No. 1 in the conference preseason coaches' poll.

While expectations are high, Turk said there is a lot of hard work ahead for the Hawks. One of the primary challenges for this team is to improve each day.

"We play our first game in a little more than three weeks and we have a long way to go," Turk said of the season opener at Louisiana College on Sept. 3. "We have to be focused on getting better each day. That's something you have to be able to do throughout the season. That was one of the things our team was able to do last year. It's not easy, but it's something we have to push ourselves to do."

Huntingdon will return to the field for another practice in shorts and helmets on Friday at 9 a.m.