Lehigh University Athletics
Mountain Hawks nearing end of preseason camp
8/26/2010 10:46:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – As preseason football camp winds down for the Lehigh football team, the Mountain Hawks' quarterback picture has become clearer. Lehigh held its second and final scrimmage of camp Wednesday night, and on Thursday head coach Andy Coen named junior Chris Lum the Mountain Hawks starting quarterback for the September 4 season opener at Drake.
“We had both guys in earlier today,” explained Coen. “They're two good football players. Chris has been our most consistent quarterback. Since the spring, he has the highest completion percentage, but what's really important is he's made big strides.
Coen continued, “He is completion percentage in the spring was in the mid-50s, but in our two scrimmages this fall, he has improved to over 70 percent. He has continued to improve throughout camp, not just throwing the ball, but taking care of the ball and moving our offense.”
A native of Lake Orion, Michigan, Lum started three games under center for the Mountain Hawks in 2009, completing 49 percent of his passes for 564 yards and five touchdowns. He made his first career start versus Harvard, completing 22-of-42 passes for 269 yards. Lum led Lehigh to a 1-2 record in three starts last year.
Lum was competing against sophomore Michael Colvin for the starting job. Colvin enjoyed a strong freshman season as a running quarterback before suffering a season-ending injury in October. He worked hard in the offseason to become a more well-rounded quarterback.
“Mike improved tremendously, completing 64 percent of his passes in our scrimmages,” said Coen. “He's a much more complete quarterback. On the field he can do a lot of things. We know Mike has value to our offense, now we need to determine how we can use that to our advantage.”
Coen then commented on the leadership abilities of both quarterbacks, “Chris has been a part of the team's leadership group and Mike has as well. They're both the type of guys that others naturally gravitate towards. They've earned the respect of the team by going through this process. The team will rally around Chris or Mike if the situation arises.”
Both quarterbacks had strong moments in Wednesday night's scrimmage on the John C. Whitehead practice fields. During a red zone segment, Colvin hit junior wide receiver Jake Drawl on a fade pattern for a touchdown. Later in the scrimmage Lum connected with another junior wide receiver, Preston Soeprasetyo on a long pass that put the ball on the one yard line. Lum capped the drive with a short touchdown pass to fullback Bryce Arruda. Lum and Soeprasetyo connected again later in the scrimmage, this time for a touchdown on a post pattern.
“I was very impressed with how the offense moved the ball,” Coen said after Wednesday's scrimmage. “We ran the ball well and our receivers made plays. Matt Fitz has made some good plays. Craig Zurn and Jake Drawl made some nice catches. And Preston (Soeprasetyo) is a guy who's having a superb camp. He's has proven he can play. He really goes and gets it and is coming into his own.”
Coen also indicated that the offensive line continues to get better, noting that the unit did well with their blitz pickup. Defensively, the Mountain Hawks struggled early in the red zone segment but bounced back to have a solid practice. During the scrimmage senior defensive back Isadore Carrie intercepted a pass by freshman Brandon Bialkowski and returned it for a touchdown. The Lehigh “D” also brought good pressure on Colvin during a two-minute drill and stopped the offense by recovering a fumbled snap.
“The defense showed good bounce-back ability,” Coen said. “They were not great in the red zone, but came back and got some three and outs. Our first defense did a nice job against our offense, and they got that turnover deep in their end during the two minute drill.”
Thursday morning Lehigh began its initial preparations for the season-opener which is now just nine days away.
“We put in some Drake stuff on Thursday and we plan on introducing a little bit more on Friday and Saturday,” Coen explained. “We've become more and more consistent throughout camp. I'm looking forward to wrapping up camp on Sunday with the Steak Fry which is always a great event for our alumni and for our kids, and then classes start on Monday.”
The Mountain Hawks will open the 2010 season on Saturday September 4 when they travel to Des Moines, Iowa to face the Drake Bulldogs. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. EDT.
NOTES FROM CAMP… University orientation began for freshmen on Thursday… Lehigh will hold a single practice on Friday and then a practice Saturday afternoon followed by a mock game at night… Sunday afternoon's practice will be followed by the annual Alumni Steak Fry inside Goodman Stadium… players will be off Monday for the first day of classes for the Fall semester.
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