FLORENCE, Ala. — The University of North Alabama scrimmaged for 65 plays Saturday morning and head football coach Chris Willis said he was pleased with what he saw, and also saw areas where the Lions need to continue to improve.
"I like where we are after eight practices," Willis said. "The good news is that we don't play a game this week and we don't play next week, so we've got time to work things out and get ready for our season-opener on September 4."
The UNA offense drove down the field and converted a field goal attempt on the first possession, led by quarterback Rett Files. The Lions then added a couple of touchdown runs, but the defense controlled much of the play.
"I don't think that one side of the ball dominated play today, but the defense definitely had the best energy throughout the day," Willis said. "The biggest challenge for the defense was to see if they could stop the run today, and they did a pretty consistent job of it. The defense did get burned on a couple of big plays, and that's something they will have to look at now on film and see how to adjust."
Willis said he was pleased with the running of several of his backs, including Mason Boswell and Tyler Price, who had big plays in the scrimmage. Freshmen backs ShunDerrick Powell and Justus McDaniel scored the only two touchdowns of the day on short runs.
Defensively, Willis praised the play of senior linebacker Will Evans, defensive lineman Devonte Toles and defensive back Montrell Campbell.
The Lions are off on Sunday but will return to the practice field at 10:00 a.m. on Monday. UNA has just two practices remaining before the start of classes.