BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University Football produced two solid practices for the first two-a-day of fall camp on Tuesday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Despite the nasty weather for the first session of practice, the Mountaineers endured a productive period where special teams were the primary focus. Appalachian worked on every detail in special teams, such as punt protection, kick return, punt blocking and punting itself.
The second period was the same tempo and grind that App State has been through since the first day of camp, going through individual and team drills as well as 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 sessions. During 7-on-7, two plays that highlighted the offense was a Jake Easter pass down the right sideline to Mock Adams for an impressive snag, while Taylor Lamb tossed a perfect ball to tight end Barrett Burns.
Over the course of 11-on-11, the defense turned it up a notch with immense pressure from the defensive line and shutdown coverage from the defensive backs.
Brandon Pinckney took control at cornerback with two deflections and a breakup along with an interception earlier during 7-on-7 from a pass that was tipped. Caleb Fuller and Myquon Stout did a great job of putting pressure on the quarterback on a few occasions, and Devan Stringer would later pick up a tackle for a loss on an option play.
The defense continued to fly all over the place with Mondo Williams recording a deflection over the middle of the field. A.J. Howard put a stamp on the solid defensive performance with a pick six to end the first 11-on-11 session.
Lamb's longest completion came over the middle to a speedy Deltron Hopkins who ran to the end zone for a score.
Following the 11-on-11 outing, the special teams went live with the kickoff return team, practicing what the team learned in the first session. Jalen Virgil had a long kick return before Darrynton Evans showcased his speed with a long run also.
Near the end of practice, the Apps practiced an in-game scenario with 31 seconds left in the fourth quarter down by two points to Tennessee, 36-34. On the first play from scrimmage, Lamb rolled to the right and threw a beautiful pass that met perfectly with Hopkins on stride for his second long reception of the day and a touchdown.
Appalachian concluded practice a little early thanks to the strong leg of freshman kicker Michael Rubino. The Middle Creek product nailed a 47-yard field goal from the middle hash, then followed that up with a more difficult 42-yarder from the left hash mark of the field facing Owens Fieldhouse.
Day 12 of App State fall camp will take place tomorrow in the afternoon. Make sure to follow appstatesports.com for the latest coverage.
