Coach Monte Coleman said that Arkansas-Pine Bluff is excited about its accomplishments during a spread-out spring football camp.
Asked what was accomplished, Coleman said: “We stayed healthy, which is a big part. I think young guys who were young for us last year matured in the receiver position, at the quarterback position — and some linemen. I think overall we matured quite a bit as a football team.”
Today, the Golden Lions will show the public how much they’ve matured during their Black and Gold game, which will close out spring drills. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Golden Lion Stadium.
The camp has seen some position moves among quarterbacks. T.Q. Mims has worked out under center after spending time as a free safety, and C.J. Branch has split time between QB and tight end in recent practices. Coleman said Branch, a redshirt sophomore from Watson Chapel, will play some at tight end today.
“I did some research on C.J., being a big guy, and in high school he was a great athlete,” offensive coordinator Eric Dooley said. “My method is, regardless of how you get him on the field, you get the best of that (athleticism).”
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But Patrick Wray has still had a solid camp at the position, Dooley mentioned.
Dooley and Coleman have been pleased with the improvements starting quarterback Ben Anderson has made in camp. Anderson hopes to build on his SWAC Freshman of the Year campaign in the fall and close out the spring in a strong way.
Regular scoring will be used in the game. The Gold includes mostly first-team players, while the Black team is predominantly second-team. This will give the second-team defense a big task at hand against the starting offensive players.
What concerns Coleman more is whether the Lions will play disciplined today.
“First of all, I want the enthusiasm of running and playing smart,” he said. “I don’t want to see a lot of stupid plays. I’m hoping the offense actually scores.”
The offense hasn’t struggled to score in two previous scrimmages with junior-to-be Dezmond Beverly and junior-college transfer Isiah Ferguson becoming Anderson’s most popular targets. The running game has been stronger with a beefed-up Dennis Jenkins and Justin Billings getting most of the carries.
Dooley said he hasn’t installed anything new in his offense.
“I think we’ve just been window-dressing some stuff, some basics,” he said. “The guys now have a better understanding, so now we’re able to do what already was there.”
The Black and Gold game was originally scheduled for last Saturday, but Coleman had to stagger the last two weeks’ worth of practices when camp started so that the game could fall on Founders’ Celebration weekend at UAPB.
“It should be a fun game,” Coleman said.