Defense shinies for ACU in controlled scrimmage
Gaines calls defensive effort 'highlight' of day
For immediate release 29 March 2002
- By Brett Vito
- Reporter-News Staff Writer
After a year as a special teams player and a handful of practices Brett
Unger finally got a chance find out exactly what it meant to have his name
penciled in at the top of the Abilene Christian University football team's
depth chart Thursday afternoon.
Unger played sparingly as a true freshman last season and even worked
as a fullback in practice. That didn't compare to what he encountered when
he played with the Wildcats' No. 1 offense during the team's first controlled
scrimmage of the spring.
"It was fun to work with the first team," Unger said. "I
have a lot of room for improvement and so does the team, but it was a good
scrimmage all the way around."
That was especially true for the Wildcats' defense, which dominated the
workout. Of the 60 plays the Wildcats ran, 14 went for negative yards and
three went for no gain.
"Our defense was the highlight," ACU coach Gary Gaines said.
"A lot of players made big plays for us defensively, and that was encouraging.
There is no question we looked better defensively than we did last year."
Senior defensive back Steven Riddley, a senior transfer from the University
of Oklahoma, turned in one of the best performances of the day, according
to Gaines.
While Riddley and the Wildcats' defense was dominating, a series of new
players was settling into new starting roles, including Unger and offensive
lineman Charles Mock of Cooper, who spent last year as a red-shirt.
"Both of those guys are a work in progress," ACU coach Gary
Gaines said. "They will both be good players and are working hard to
get better."
ACU will resume workouts Tuesday when they will work out in full pads
at 4 p.m. The team's first full scrimmage will take place April 6.
The Wildcats are coming off of a 3-8 season.
Contact sports writer Brett Vito at 676-6771 or vitob@abinews.com.
