Lehigh University Athletics
Coen says, "Keep an eye on..."
8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Following a day off on Tuesday, the Lehigh football team got back to work on Wednesday and went through two tough practices underneath the sun on the John C. Whitehead Practice Fields. With the season opener now only two-and-a-half weeks away, head coach Andy Coen took time out of his busy schedule to speak with Lehighsports.com and point out several Mountain Hawks to keep an eye on.
On the defensive side of the ball, Coen mentioned junior defensive lineman BJ Benning as a player that has caught his eye throughout preseason camp. “He’s big, he’s physical, and he keeps improving every day we’re out here,” Coen said. “BJ put on some extra weight and muscle in the off-season, but he’s every bit athletic as he was last season.” Benning totaled 28 tackles as a sophomore in 2007, including his first career sack in a win over Princeton.
Coen then moved to the offensive side of things. “Craig Zurn has really come on strong during camp,” Coen said. “He had a strong spring and he’s been able to carry that through. He was definitely in the mix at the start of camp, but he’s worked his way up the lineup even more.” Coen added, “He’s tough, he’s gritty, he’s a hard-nosed football player.”
With a talented crop of freshmen on this year’s roster, Coen noted that each first year student-athlete has proven to be what the coaching staff had projected. He then went onto point out three that have stood out. “Bryce Martin, a linebacker, has had a great camp for us. We’ll plug him in on special teams, along with a few other freshmen.” He continued, “Mark Wickware at tight end has done some nice things and De’Vaughn Gordon will be in the mix at wide receiver.”
With only four more days of preseason camp remaining, Coen laid out the Mountain Hawks upcoming schedule. “We still need to keep going here. We’ll go hard tomorrow (Thursday) and light on Friday before our scrimmage on Saturday. Then we’ll finish things up with a workout on Sunday, be off on Monday, and by the time we get back together next week, we’ll begin moving into our prep for Drake.”
He added, “At this point, I think we’re where I thought we’d be. We’ve gotten a lot of work accomplished, but we can’t be satisfied; we’ve got to keep improving.”
Lehigh kicks its 2008 season off on Saturday, September 6 when the Mountain Hawks welcome the Drake Bulldogs to Goodman Stadium. Kick-off is set for 12:30 and tickets can be purchased in one of three ways: by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall between the hours of 10 and 4, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
NOTES FROM CAMP … the freshmen will go through three consecutive days of University orientation beginning on Thursday … the weather continued to be in Lehigh’s favor with temperatures in the mid-70’s and abundant sunshine on Wednesday … Lehigh will practice in the morning on Thursday and have the evening off, while on Friday, the team will practice in the afternoon.
