BOONE, N.C. — With the first day in full pads just one day away, Appalachian State University football moved closer to full contact with a two-and-a-half-hour practice in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts on Monday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Per NCAA regulations, Monday's practice was the fourth and final session conducted before the Mountaineers are permitted to strap on full pads for the first time on Tuesday. Appalachian will hold its first two-a-day practices on Wednesday.

Monday's practice was highlighted by three tightly contested 11-on-11 periods in the final hour of the workout. Appalachian's defense, which was stellar through the first weekend of the preseason, continued to be stout on Monday but its offensive counterparts also turned in their fair share of highlights on the sunny, relatively hot day.

ASU's defense collected several “sacks” (or what is considered a sack without tackling) during the 11-on-11 work, with seniors Bobby Bozzo and Jabari Fletcher and junior-college transfer Dan Wylie among those who reached the quarterback. Terrific pass coverage by the linebackers and defensive backs contributed greatly to the success up front. Two-time All-American Mark LeGree highlighted a number of pass break-ups by stepping in front of a pass over the middle and nearly making a leaping interception which would have likely gone the other way for six points had he been able to corral the pickoff.

There were several highlights on the offensive side of the ball as well. Jamal Jackson, one of two candidates battling to fill the large shoes left behind by Armanti Edwards at quarterback, turned in a handful of nice plays during the final 11-on-11 periods. The redshirt freshman first threaded a pass between two defenders to tight end Brad Hardee, who made a nice snag on in traffic for a 15-yard gain. A few plays later, Jackson hooked up with fellow redshirt freshman Tony Washington for back-to-back impressive completions. On the first, Jackson escaped heavy pressure in the pocket, rolled right and found Washington to turn the apparent sack into positive yardage. One snap later, Jackson hit a wide-open Washington over the middle for a long gain.

Later on, DeAndre Presley, the other signal-caller looking to replace Edwards as starter, showed good patience and vision to complete a short pass to running back Cedric Baker, who beat defenders to the edge after catching the pass and turned up the left sideline for a long gain.

“It was another good day of practice,” head coach Jerry Moore said. “I've been doing this for a few years and it was your typical fourth day — guys are starting to get a little bit tired. But their competitiveness and conditioning started to show today because they weren't nearly as tired as other teams that I've been around on the fourth day of practice. I was very happy with how they practiced today.”