Great Weather and Attitudes Dominate Second Week of Football Camp

Quarterbacks still vying for top spot

MANSFIELD – The perfect weather matched the positive attitude of the Mountaineer football team as players closed in the end of the second week of preseason camp.

The hot weather broke just in time for picture day on Saturday with players and coaches greeted with crisp, sunny skies for a two-a-day on the field session on Monday.

“We’ve been working hard, and I’m very pleased with our team attitude,” said third-year head coach Jim Shiffer. “Camp is tough on everybody and it’s especially challenging with so many new faces. But the players are picking things up quickly and we’re making progress.”

A positive sign of the team attitude is that even with so many freshmen, very few players have left camp.

“We’ve got just two more two-a-day sessions left this week before we break camp,” reports Shiffer. “Don’t get me wrong – we still have a lot of work to do, but I’m happy about how far we’ve come as a team in such a short time.”

While there is competition for almost every position on the team, it’s the battle for the starting quarterback spot that has garnered the most interest.

Six different players have taken snaps at practice with veteran Tyler Blakeslee and freshman Garrett Kensy leading the pack going into the second week.

The Mountaineers end preseason camp with an intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday before the start of classes on Monday.

The team will travel to Lycoming College on Sept. 2 for a scrimmage and open the season at Karl Van Norman Field on Sept. 9 against Shippensburg in the 2006 Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic.

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