BOONE, N.C. – With a majority of the starters playing only a handful of snaps, Appalachian State mixed live snaps and drills for two hours on Thursday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Quarterback Taylor Lamb had his best drive of the day interrupted by a horn to work on kickoff returns and Marcus Cox' runs were over at the line of scrimmage as he donned a red jersey again, staying fresh for the Mountaineers' opener Sept. 1 at Tennessee.
App State head coach Scott Satterfield knows who his starting QB and go-to running back are, today's 70 snaps were more about determining who would give them a breather come September.
“We really wanted to look hard at a few young guys today,” Satterfield told the media following practice. “We held out a bunch of the (starters), especially on the defensive side of the ball. We got a lot of the twos, threes, and fours in there to try and see which ones could really help us. We got about 70 plays in there and got to see what we needed to see.”
It was hard not to see freshman athlete Darrynton Evans. Evans had two or three good touches on one touchdown drive, avoiding two would-be tacklers in the backfield on one first down run and slicing his way into the end zone on a screen for a short TD reception. He added a 45-yard run on another drive, getting caught from behind on inside the five.
“Evans is a guy that we've played at running back and wide receiver,” Satterfield said. “He's a very versatile athlete and he made some plays today. He's a guy that could maybe be in the mix and showed why some today. We wanted to see him and a few other guys a little more.”
Running back Terrance Upshaw ran hard and saw the most action in the scrimmage. He helped set up the offense inside the 10, but the defense “stopped” the offense on downs to end the threat. Backup QB J.P. Caruso would have scored on a second down run, but was touched down just shy of the goal line. Linebacker Toronto Thomas helped key the goal line stand.
Caruso also appeared to break free for a 5-yard TD run, but the play was blown dead on a touch.
One of the more head-turning highlights came at the end of practice from freshman kicker Michael Rubino. He curled a 50-yard field goal inside the top of the left upright to end practice. The kick caught the attention of almost everyone on the field, including his head coach.
“We wanted to try and create a couple of pressure situations to put those guys in and see how they react,” Satterfield said. “It's never going to be the same as a game, but it's good to see when they make it, especially from a long way out.”
The majority of the defensive starters sat out the live snaps as coaches looked to firm up the two-deep. App will practice Fri.-Sun. before taking Monday off to begin preparations for Tennessee.
-App State-
