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The Mississippi College football team opened practice on Thursday (Aug. 11), and the coaching staff was impressed with the group that came into camp.
“We had a great first day,” said head coach John Bland. “I think we may not have expected enough out of these guys so early on. As a staff, we threw a lot of stuff at these guys, and they answered the bell each and every time. It was a very encouraging start to camp.”
The Choctaws opened the day with a workout across Highway 80 on the practice field as the 145 Choctaws that reported for camp went through drills and started installation on the first day.
Following the morning practice, the team came back out Thursday night, and after waiting out about a 30-minute lightning delay, went through their conditioning test.
“You can really tell it’s an all-around better team atmosphere this year,” said senior offensive linemanJamaal White. “Everyone came in with great intentions to give their all for this conditioning test, and a majority of the guys passed. Now that we have this behind us, we can focus 100% on football and prepare to have a great season here.”
“Not only did our veterans come out ready to go, but I really liked the way our young guys came out to work,” Bland went on. “Nathan Faciane and Toriaun Sergent were two among many that stood out on the opening day.”
The Choctaws will come back out on Friday morning for a practice at 8:45 a.m. and will go through a walk-through on Friday night. They are building towards August 20th when they will scrimmage at Robinson-Hale Stadium at 7:30 p.m. following “Choctaw Fanfare” on The Quad at 6:00 p.m.
Mississippi College is a private Christian university located in Clinton, Mississippi with an enrollment of over 5,000 students. MC is recently finished their transition process back to NCAA Division II and the Gulf South Conference and will be competing for conference and national championships in the 2016-17 academic year.
The athletic department sponsors 17 intercollegiate athletic programs: Baseball, Men’s and Women’s Basketball, Men’s and Women’s Cross Country, Football, Golf, Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Softball, Men’s and Women’s Tennis, Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track & Field, Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track & Field and Volleyball.
For more information on Mississippi College athletics, please contact David Nichols at 601-925-3234 or nichols@mc.edu.
