MOBILE, Ala. – From chatting with former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops at the Dollar General Bowl press conference on Friday morning to sitting beside former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden at the USO Mayors Luncheon on Friday afternoon, Appalachian State coach
Scott Satterfield was in the company of FBS-champion football coaches.
The Mountaineers call it #FocusFriday for a reason, and the priority by late Friday night was preparing for their bowl matchup against Toledo on Saturday.
By the time people were lining Royal Street for a Mardi Gras parade through downtown Mobile or gathering in Bienville Square for a pep rally, App State had completed its final practice of 2017.
"I'm just trying to take everything in and trying to enjoy the last bit of time I have with my teammates," senior receiver
Ike Lewis said.
Day 4 of 5 in Mobile began with a press conference that included Satterfield, Stoops, App State Director of Athletics
Doug Gillin, Toledo coach Jason Candle and Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson.
A big crowd joined them at the Mobile Convention Center for a lunch in which Stoops served as the keynote speaker. Bowden, a Birmingham native, and Julia "Mrs. Yosef" Adams from App State were among this year's Champion of Life recipients.
App State's third and final workout at the University of South Alabama's practice field began with co-offensive coordinator
Shawn Clark and his offensive linemen forming a small circle and engaging in a football-style version of "Pepper." Their activity featured one-handed tosses and catches of a football instead of sharply hit grounders, a baseball exercise that prompted the hanging of confusing "No Pepper Games" signs in many MLB stadiums.
Led by Yosef, App State cheerleaders and band members also performed in the parade, as the first official Mardi Gras celebration was actually held in Mobile in 1703 —15 years before it began in Louisiana. With front-row spots along Royal Street, redshirting freshmen for the Mountaineers showed off their good hands by catching snacks, toys and accessories thrown from the elaborate floats.
The pep rally ended at about 8 p.m., or 22 hours before kickoff of the Dollar General Bowl.
The Mountaineers will attempt to go 3-for-3 in winning bowl games under the direction of Satterfield. App State, Clemson and Oklahoma are the only FBS teams to have won back-to-back league titles in 2016 and 2017, making Satterfield and Dabo Swinney the only coaches with back-to-back titles.
Stoops, after all, retired before the 2017 season.
