Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University football team will hold its annual spring game Saturday at 10:30 a.m. The contest will be held in Irwin Belk Stadium and John R. Martin Field on the Wingate campus. Wingate sophomore sports information student assistant Steven Grandy will provide a live blog for the event. Bulldog fans can follow Grandy’s blog at CoverItLive.com.

Wingate head coach Joe Reich had a clear agenda for the 2010 spring practice season. “We want to continue to develop depth at every position,” Reich says. “It is very important for us to improve every day.”

On offense, Reich looks to shore up the tight end position, vacated by All-SAC honoree Ryan Webber. “We have three guys looking to be the man at tight end,” Reich says. “We want to get each of these the experience they will need for the fall season.”

Depth on the offensive line will be another focus area. “We want to find the best five (offensive linemen),” Reich acknowledges. “We are asking, ‘who are they?’ and in general, looking to improve at every spot.”

On defense, Wingate lost All-SAC safety Tylan Merkerson. “Ed Doughty is getting much work (at safety) in our spring drills,” Reich says. “We wanted to move (exclusively) to safety in the spring of 2009, but we couldn’t. He is having an exceptional spring practice.”

Two other defenders earn praise from the Bulldog mentor. “Shane Outen is making a tough move from linebacker to defensive end,” Reich asserts. “He is making the transition. We think this move is the best move for Shane.”

“Jared Seate is having a great spring,” Reich says. “If we started (the 2010 season) tomorrow, Jared would be our starter at Mike linebacker. He is in the position to be the guy at MLB.”

“Joseph So has seen many minutes at center (during spring drills),” Reich says. “Center is a critical position for us. Joseph still needs to continue to get better…but he is developing good consistency…we feel he is getting the job done.”

Reich and offensive coordinator Mike Long have given the Bulldog fullbacks many reps at tailback during the spring of 2010. “(Fullback) Andrew Nallenweg can carry the ball,” Reich notes. “His pass protection is solid as well. We wanted to put the fullbacks in different scenarios, so we could find out how they would react.”

“We want our quarterbacks to work on game situations (Saturday),” Reich adds. “Cody Haffly is our number one quarterback and he will get his repetitions. We want our back-up quarterbacks to experience game-like situations. We want them (the back-ups) to move the chains, work through down-and-distance, read blitzes and check-in and check-out.”

The summer is also very important for the Bulldogs. “The coaches cannot be involved in summer workouts, due to NCAA rules,” Reich says. “We will have a good group stay in town this summer to lift weights and work out.”

“Certainly, we want the guys to improve strength-wise (during the summer),” Reich acknowledges. “We have set a goal for our returning players…we want 100 percent of them to pass our pre-season conditioning test (in August). We feel this is a very attainable goal.”

The 2010 spring has been a good one for the Bulldogs. “Number one, we want the guys to have fun,” Reich admits. “We have done the work…we don’t have much left to accomplish. We want to make sure our fundamentals are in place, so we will be ready for the fall.”

Wingate finished the 2009 campaign 7-3 overall. The Bulldogs were 5-2 in the South Atlantic Conference, good enough for second place in the league standings. Wingate opens the 2010 season Saturday, August 28, visiting the University of West Georgia for a 7 p.m. NCAA Division II Super Region 2 contest.




WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.