Sewanee begins Laurendine era

Between them, the Sewanee and Earlham College football teams went 1-19 last year. The win was Sewanee's 33-14 victory in the season opener at the Quakers' field in Richmond, Ind.

The teams begin the 2011 season today at 2 p.m. EDT at Sewanee's McGee Field, the oldest college gridiron in the South and fourth oldest in the country. But the Tigers' head coach, Tommy Laurendine, and defensive coordinator Brian Newberry are new, and so are the offense and defense they're running.

Laurendine has incorporated the triple-option attack he coordinated at The Citadel, and Newberry has his unit in a 3-4 formation. Newberry was hired after the 10 spring practices Laurendine directed, but the head coach said he's happy with the Tigers' progress going into the opener.

"I feel very pleased with where we are thus far," Laurendine said Thursday. "We had a pretty good scrimmage against LaGrange College two weeks ago, and I think we gained some confidence from that scrimmage."

Sewanee lost senior cornerback Graham Jones for the season with a severe ankle injury that day, however. That moved freshmen into the top two spots at that corner, but Laurendine already had identified the new starter, 5-foot-6 De'Nard Ford from McEachern High in Georgia, as a dynamic player.

"He has a lot of tools, and he's a smart player for a freshman," Laurendine said.

Ford also has the benefit of blending with several proven defensive standouts, including senior all-conference free safety Alfonza Knight and linebackers Zac Atkins, Andrew Walters, John Phillip Boudreaux and John Davenport. Strong safety J.D. Crabtree and cornerback Murphy Walters are juniors, and senior defensive end Will Law heads an up-front trio with sophomore Beu Jacob on the other side of senior noseguard Bobby Gerzanick.

"It's a new defensive system," Laurendine said, "but the players have embraced it and Coach Newberry's coaching style. And we have very good depth at linebacker."

Fullback Zeke Wilson, a 5-11, 224-pound power runner, will be the workhorse in the option attack, and fellow senior starters are Ben Cleveland at one of the two slotback spots and Max Jones and Andrew Gordon in the line. Jones, a 6-5, 298-pound left guard, "could've played for me at The Citadel last year," Laurendine said.

Lee Schurlknight is not a prototypical option quarterback, the coach acknowledged, but he got the bulk of the work behind center as a freshman last year and is "a very cerebral player and efficient." Fellow sophomore Curtis Johnson has been inconsistent at the position but provides a more athletic option.

Junior Sergio Acosta gives Sewanee a home-run threat as Wilson's backup, and junior Jase Brooks and sophomore Chuck Winfield are dangerous at the slotback opposite Cleveland. Center Conner Lewis, right guard Zack Parker and left tackle Jake Fojtik are sophomores working with Jones and Gordon in the line, and Chad Morehead and Parks Kingery are sophomores starting at receiver.

Morehead is the primary kickoff and punt returner.

With one freshman starting and 10 others listed as primary backups, Sewanee still has to depend on youthful help -- and overall health.

"Our goal right now is to have a winning season, and we can't afford to have anybody get hurt," Laurendine said. "But if we can stay healthy, we'll surprise some people."

n This is Hall of Fame weekend at Sewanee, and the new inductees will be introduced at halftime: longtime athletic trainer and facilities manager Bill Barry, Hamp Bass, Joseph Bean, Jane Chapman Fisher, Rob Chapman, Jody Gee and the 1988 and '89 men's tennis teams.

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