News
Email
Print
Moore looking for team leaders
Mountaineers will open the season at powerful Tigers
Jerry Moore
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: August 3, 2008
BOONE - Appalachian State began preseason practice yesterday in the afterglow of winning a third straight national championship and with an opening game against LSU looming on the horizon.
For Jerry Moore, who is beginning his 20th season as the Mountaineers' coach, the focus is on finding new leaders for his team's attempt at a follow-up performance.
"I think we've got good talent, good ability," said Moore, whose team has returning starters at six positions on offense and five on defense. "But what kind of leadership we've got -- that's the paramount thing right now.
"Who's going to step up and be the leaders on this football team? Because the bottom line is, I don't care if you're an NFL team or if you're Watauga High School, leadership ultimately becomes the difference. That's huge for us -- finding leaders during camp."
A few on-the-field headliners from last year's team are missing -- including Kerry Brown, Dexter Jackson, Corey Lynch and Kevin Richardson -- but Moore pointed to equal losses in terms of leadership from the likes of Nic Cardwell, Trey Elder and John Holt -- all of whom are now serving in coaching roles.
Moore said that he asked his team recently who would read 2 Samuel, chapter 22 -- the team's adopted "victory verses" from the Bible -- before every game, a tradition started by Cardwell three years ago.
"I was back in the office the next morning and I heard a guy pecking on the door," Moore said. "It was Blake Elder, Trey's little brother. He said, ‘Coach, Nic told me I'm to read 2 Samuel, 22.'
"I thought that was an awesome thing. Nick had been doing that for three years and now it's Blake's turn. In two more years, Blake's going to pass that on to somebody else. I think that's what makes us a little bit different. I think a thing like that is one of the driving forces for our football team."
Roles will be sorted out over the new four weeks in preparation for a big-time season opener on Aug. 30 at LSU. The game will match defending NCAA Division I champions -- LSU from the bowl division and ASU from the championship division -- for the first time.
Ninety players began practice yesterday, most of whom have already been working out this summer in Boone.
The only player among ASU's new recruits that won't be in camp is DeMorris Brooks, a defensive back and junior-college transfer who didn't meet NCAA eligibility requirements.
Running back Rod Chisholm, a freshman recruit from Charlotte, is nursing an ankle injury and has yet to be cleared to begin practice.
Moore said that conditioning will play a big part in camp, especially with a 5 p.m. opener in late August in Louisiana, which will likely offer hot and humid conditions. The Mountaineers will also deal with much outside hype of a game pitting defending national champions coupled with memories of ASU's upset victory against Michigan in last season's opener.
"We start off with playing one of the best football teams in the country, if not the best," Moore said. "Very few teams play any harder than LSU. Very few conferences play any harder than the Southeastern Conference. So we've obviously got our hands full, but I don't think we're going to lack for confidence."
Armanti Edwards, the Mountaineers' quarterback and dual-threat offensive star, said: "Beating Michigan is something you don't forget, and people remind you of it all the time. But, at the same time, we know how to focus on what's ahead. The coaches always do a great job of keeping us focused and working us hard. That won't change."
Moore said his team will take the same approach in preseason camp as it did last year.
"Our kids were extremely focused those four weeks leading up to Michigan last year," Moore said. "I'm fixing to get after them today before we ever start practice about being disciplined and being sharp and being focused."
T.J. Courman, a senior receiver who has played in all three of the Mountaineers' national title games, said: "Against Michigan, we were the only ones who gave us a shot. I don't know if that will be any different this year. But I do know LSU will be ready. We better be ready, too."
■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
Advertisement
