April 3, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Southern Miss went through its ninth football practice of spring drills here Thursday afternoon at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility and first-year coach Larry Fedora continues to see improvement in his team.

The Golden Eagles, who went through a 2 ½ hour practice in shoulder pads and shorts, got better reviews from their head coach than after Tuesday's practice. Although Fedora admits he is not satisfied with where his team is at, he does like the way that they have responded over the first two weeks of practice.

"I am not happy, but I won't be happy until we play great every snap," said Fedora, whose team continues to put in new offensive and defensive schemes. "We are getting better every day, but we have a long way to go. Today's practice went very well and we got after it on both sides of the ball."

Fedora also said that there was a great competition at quarterback and that redshirt sophomore Martevious Young and redshirt freshman Austin Davis were getting most of the reps, but that redshirt senior Todd Wilson was also in the mix for that spot.

"There is a tremendous learning curve for that position in this offense, going from what they were to what they are now," said Fedora. "They are doing a good job (thus far this spring)."

Southern Miss returns to practice Saturday morning. The annual Black and Gold Spring Game is set for 6 p.m., April 12, at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at Roberts Stadium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth tickets. Call 1-800-844-TICK (8425) to order or go online at SouthernMiss.com.