FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (April 16, 2019) – The Lumberjacks were back in action on Tuesday afternoon for the 10th workout of the spring practice season.
The practice took place inside the Skydome – marking just the third time this spring that the Lumberjacks have worked out indoors. The session lasted 20 periods and featured two different portions of practice that saw the Lumberjacks work in a full-team capacity.
The defense held strong for the majority of the team sessions before the offense rebounded by scoring on three of four opportunities in a red zone drill that concluded practice.
The Lumberjacks will return to the Skydome practice fields on Thursday, April 18 beginning at 2:30 p.m. MST.
All spring practices and scrimmages are open to the public and free to attend.
Highlights
- Seniors Brandon Lawless and Tristen Vance each registered a sack for the defense during the early team period.
- Sophomore Nate Perkins had a strong pass breakup in the initial team session.
- Senior Aaron Andrews recorded a sack in the late team action.
- Junior Aramis Aldredge had a nice 15-yard run up the middle.
- Junior tight end Matt Kempton displayed solid hands with a couple of catches over the middle in the red zone.
- Sophomore Jacinto Castillo scored on a tough 10-yard run during the red zone drill.
- Quarterback Gino Campiotti hit freshman Cody Coleman for a score on a reception that saw Coleman extend for a leaping grab.
- Andrews and Vance combined for another sack during the latter part of the team session.
Quotable
NAU Outside Linebackers Coach Junior Tanuvasa
"The outside linebackers do a lot of things within our defense. We are asked to stop the run, rush the passer, drop in coverage and play some man (defense). There are a lot of different things that we have to do in order to make our defense successful. With a 3-4 scheme there are a lot of moving parts – our outside linebackers, everything is funneled to them. So we have to be able to play a lot of different situations whether it is pass or run or pass drop or rushing the passer."
"We need guys that can run around and chase the quarterback, chase the running back and make plays in the passing game, so there are many things we need from them (outside linebackers) as far as attributes go."
"We are growing. We started off and our group was (defensive) ends that were converting to outside backers and safeties that were converting to outside backers. So there are two different skill sets that they have been working with pretty much their entire life and we are working them into what we need them to do in order for this defense to be successful. They are taking strides day by day and the guys are attacking each day."
Up Next
The Lumberjacks will return to the Skydome practice fields on Thursday, April 18 beginning at 2:30 p.m. MST.
All of NAU's spring practice sessions are free and open to the public, including the NAU Football Spring Showcase, which is slated for Friday, April 26 at 6 p.m. MST.
