Young quarterbacks

grasping ASU system
From staff reports

With temperatures in the mid 80s, Appalachian State worked out on the Kidd Brewer Stadium turf for two hours and 45 minutes in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts Monday. The session was ASU’s second in shoulder pads — the Moun-taineers will don full pads for the first time on Tuesday.

“We’ve had nice practices,” Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore said. “We really have. I think they’re anxious to play. I don't know how good we can be, but we’ve been practicing well.”

As usual, Appalachian dedicated approximately 25 minutes near the end of practice to 11-on-11 work. Highlights included:

• Back-to-back completions from DeAndre Presley to true freshman receiver Tony Washington.

• A pair of impressive scrambles by true freshman quarterback Jamal Jackson on consecutive plays. On the first, Jackson picked up 10 yards and on the second, he alluded several would-be tacklers in the backfield to turn a sack into a short gain.

• A pretty pass-and-catch from Presley to sophomore Brian Quick on a slant pattern. True freshman cornerback Demetrius McCray wrapped up Quick from behind to save the play from going for a touchdown.

• What appeared to be a sure interception by Brandon Olsen on the first offensive play turned into an acrobatic catch by Matt Cline when the senior wide receiver plucked the ball from Olsen’s grasp when it momentarily popped out of the linebacker’s hands.

• Cline made several tacklers miss after hauling in a short swing pass from Jackson, en route to a long gain.
Presley, Jackson and Travaris Cadet have been getting extra reps because of the foot injury suffered by starter Armanti Edwards. Moore likes how Jackson and Cadet have grasped the Mountaineers’ offensive scheme so far.

“I’m impressed with their maturity level,” Moore said. “They all spent a good time here this summer and have adapted well.”

Other Monday highlights include:

• A very nice pass break-up by sophomore cornerback Ed Gainey on an out route to the left sideline.

• Anthony Williams, a 285-pound defensive tackle chased down Jackson for a sack deep in the offensive backfield.

• Linebackers D.J. Smith and Jeremy Kimbrough and defensive ends Lanston Tanyi and John Rizor all snuffed out quarterback keepers for stops behind the line of scrimmage.

• Long runs by Robert Welton and Rod Chisholm near the end of 11-on-11 work. Welton made several moves in traffic to break into the secondary for a substantial gain before Chisholm used some superb blocking to break off a 60-yard touchdown run.

Packman returns to KBS
Primetime with the Packman host Mark Packer will bring his Southern Fried Football Tour to Kidd Brewer Stadium on Nov. 21 for the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug between Appalachian and Western Carolina.

This year’s SFF Tour stop at ASU marks the fifth-straight season and seventh time overall that Packman and his crew will take in the gameday experience at The Rock. Most notably, the SFF Tour was on hand for the “Miracle on the Mountain” 16-15 win over Furman in 2002 and Appalachian State’s 79-35 win over Western Carolina in 2007.