In the most extensive action of his career, walk-on senior quarterback Dan Imhoff led the Red team of the first team defense and second team offense to a 31-21 victory Saturday over the White team, made up of the first string offense and second string defense, in the 2010 Kay Yow Spring Football game. Despite the loss, redshirt junior tight end George Bryan said the scrimmage was beneficial in more ways than one.
“It was a lot of fun,” Bryan said. “I love the competition that we get to go against. The defense played real well and everybody played good. It was a good scrimmage and I think we learned a lot from it and had a great time.”
An announced crowd of 25,372 watched coach Tom O’Brien and his team conclude 2010 spring practice with what started out as an aerial shootout.
Redshirt sophomore quarterback Mike Glennon’s long awaited first pass as State’s first stringer went awry, but that was about all that went wrong for either offense in the early going Saturday. Glennon proceeded to completed his next nine passes for the White team.
“Mike is an awesome quarterback,” Bryan said. “And he is going to continue to grow and keep being one of the best quarterbacks I have seen.”
Not to be outdone, Imhoff threw for 171 yards and two touchdowns in the first half alone. The walk-on from Sanford finished the game with 221 yards on 11 for 24 passing.
Glennon and the White team opened the scoring with a six yard touchdown to redshirt junior tight end George Bryan before the Red team answered with trickery for a long score. Junior wide receiver T.J. Graham caught a lateral pass near the sideline from Imhoff before stepping back and tying the game at seven with a 49 yard touchdown to wide open redshirt junior and fellow wide receiver Jay Smith.
“All I had to do was be in the right position and make the catch and finish strong,” Smith said. “And that is what I tried to do today.”
Smith was one of six players with at least 55 yards receiving on the day. Both Glennon and Imhoff spread the wealth, completing passes to seven different targets apiece, including sophomore tight end Asa Watson, who Imhoff connected with on an 86 yard touchdown pass with three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
“We have a great group of guys at the wide receiver position,” said Smith, who finished with three catches for 96 yards and two touchdowns. “We are growing as a unit and one thing we break down on every day is ‘growth’. We all have to grow and learn more about the game and that is how we are going to get better going into the season.”
Though the offenses stole the show early, both the Red and White defenses responded with several big plays of their own, picking off four passes and tallying seven sacks on the afternoon. After the two offenses combined to score four first quarter touchdowns, they scored only three more over the game’s final three quarters.
“The defense definitely stepped it up and started playing ball,” Bryan said. “They had a couple mistakes here and there, but both sides of the ball played hard.”
Redshirt sophomore linebacker Terrell Manning led the Red team with seven tackles, while senior linebacker Asante’ Cureton and freshman defensive end both recorded seven for the White squad.
With spring practice now concluded, Bryan said he and his teammates have already turned their focus to the Pack’s season opener Sept. 4 against Western Carolina.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” Bryan said. “It really can’t get here fast enough. I am really excited. We are going to have a great team and a great year. I’m thankful for all the fans and I hope everyone comes out and keeps supporting us.”
