Hawks open preseason football practice

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Head football coach Mike Turk and his staff put 152 players through Huntingdon's first football practice of the preseason on Sunday afternoon.

Practicing in shorts and helmets, the Hawks spent a little less than three hours on the turf for Day 1.

"We're just glad to be out there. When you've been looking around and seeing everyone from high schools on up to the pros already practicing, you want to be out there too," Turk said. "We made a lot of mistakes today and we had to deal with all the stuff you deal with on the first day, but it was good to get out there and get something done."

Huntingdon is coming off a 7-3 season and a second-place finish in the USA South Athletic Conference. With 16 starters returning on offense and defense, the Hawks were ranked No. 1 in the USA South preseason coaches' poll.

Huntingdon opens the season on Sept. 5 at home with a non-conference game against Louisiana College. With a little less than three weeks until the season opener, Turk said it's important for the Hawks to utilize every opportunity to get better.

"This is true for the entire season, but our focus is on getting better each day," Turk said. "Right now, it's imperative that we get better each day. We have to push each other and provide competition to make ourselves better.

"We have a lot of experience back on both sides of the ball, but we also need some young guys to come on fast, learn what to do and start to factor in at some of the spots we need depth. The only way we're going to get that done is to coach them hard and try to get as many reps as we can get each day."

The Hawks will practice in shorts and helmets again on Monday at 9 a.m. before practicing in shoulder pads and shorts for the first time on Tuesday and full gear on Thursday. Practices are open to the public.