Huntingdon looking for dominant performance from defensive line

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Huntingdon football team split Wednesday's practice into a fundamentals session and an 11-on-11 session.

Head coach Mike Turk said it was another important step for game preparation.

"I thought we did some good things today. This was the first time in the preseason that we've put the ball out there, played consecutive snaps and the offense either put drives together or the defense made stops and got off the field," Turk said. "As far as the first units are concerned, both of them got some things done and made some plays. From an overall standpoint, we did some good things, but there were still a lot of mistakes and things that will get you beat."

Turk said the defensive line set the tone early in Wednesday's 11-on-11 work. With one All-American and All-Region selection (senior Heath McCray) and two other All-Conference selections (seniors Drew Wheeler and Octavis Harris) returning this season, expectations are high for the defensive line.

McCray, an honorable mention All-American, first-team All-Region and first-team All-Conference selection last season, led the defensive line with 39 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles last season. He was second on the team with 6.5 sacks.

Wheeler led the Hawks with seven sacks and was second to McCray on the defensive line with 37 tackles and 10 tackles for loss. Harris followed with 35 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks and two fumble recoveries.

"The defensive line is probably our deepest group," Turk said. "When the first unit was on the field today for the first two possessions, they dominated the line of scrimmage. We have a lot of guys who have proven themselves, are experienced and are playing at a high level.

"That being said we're still looking for some help. We're trying to platoon guys as much as possible. We want to get to where we can roll three groups of guys out there, not have a big drop-off and be fresh on the defensive line all the time."

In addition to McCray, Turk said senior Jalen McDonald, junior Parker Allen and freshman Tim Birt are looking good at defensive end and Wheeler and Harris are setting the tone at defensive tackle. Sophomore William Elliott leads the way at the nose position.

"We are encouraged by what we see and we're trying to challenge them to step it up to another level and continue to improve," Turk said. "We need to find one or two more guys to play the nose position. We have one (Elliott) that is playing at a pretty high level right now, but after that, we need some other guys to step up.

"At the end position, Heath, Jalen, Parker and Birt are doing good things and Drew and O (Harris) are really playing well at defensive tackle. But we need to find a few more guys. The more guys we have that we can plug in without a drop-off, the better off we will be."

The Hawks return to the field on Thursday for the second two-a-day practice of the preseason. The morning practice is set for 9 a.m.