Bulldogs Open 2006 Spring Practice
State worked in NCAA-mandated shorts and head gear only, but the head coach saw enough to convince him that some alterations to his offense had made an immediate impact.
I know that we are better right now than we were at this time last year at wide receiver, Croom said. Just having Omarr (Conner) and Tony (Burks) out there today made a difference. Those two will make us better.
Conner (Macon, Miss.) was the team's first-unit quarterback when spring drills began in 2005 and did not make the move to wide receiver until the final three weeks of the '05 season. He caught nine passes in the final two games alone.
Burks (Gulfport, Miss.) joined the MState program in January 2006 from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and went through the team's off-season conditioning program. He caught 44 passes last fall as a sophomore in the junior college ranks.
But while the head coach was pleased with the make-up of his pass catchers, he was not thrilled with the guys entrusted with delivering them the ball.
I didn't think we played well at quarterback at all, Croom said. Our ball location was bad and from an execution standpoint, we just didn't perform well at quarterback, and all we were doing today was base stuff.
I thought the offensive line looked pretty good, but we're out here today in our underwear, so there's not a whole lot to judge, Croom continued. The defense scored 14 points on turnovers, batted some balls and recovered some fumbles, so hopefully, we can continue that.
Croom reported that rising junior defensive tackle Corey Clark (Taylorsville, Miss.) had withdrawn from school and was no longer a member of the team, but the head coach was pleased to see rising senior halfback Derek Ambrose (New Orleans, La.) participating with the offense on the team's first spring practice. Ambrose suffered a knee ligament tear in State's Week 3 Tulane game last fall.
It was a good first day, Croom said, but that's all it wasjust the first day.