Hornets have spirited practice - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

With a spirited practice under its belt, the Alabama State football team ended on a high to end Tuesday's afternoon practice.

It's not surprising how not having to do post-practice conditioning runs after a tough practice in full pads can bring joy to a team, which happens on every level of football. But it's how the Hornets avoid gassers that was clearly the highlight of the day.

It's simple – one of the linemen had to catch a punt, a task much easier said than done when the punter is Alabama State's Bobby Wenzig, one of the best in the country, and on the receiving end is a lineman who rarely ever touches the football.

The linemen were allowed several ‘practice' attempts by head coach Reggie Barlow. However, for OL Damian Love, one attempt was all he needed, as his running, diving catch of a Wenzig punt near midfield allowed the Hornets to get a break from conditioning drills and sent the team into a euphoric state.

"When you're in camp everyday, and you're doing things consistently, it can become routine," Barlow said. "We wanted to do something fun, give us something we can laugh about and show some of our skill players that we have some big, athletic guys. They did a good job."

The afternoon session was sharper and crisper Tuesday, with the tone being set by the fast-moving, veteran Hornets' defense.

"Practice was definitely fast today," Barlow said. "Our defense is doing a lot of moving around under (Defensive Coordinator) Cedric Thornton, particularly in third down and red zone situations. We want to be aggressive, and he's done that. On the offensive line, we want to find those eight guys. We feel good about our skill guys. It's just that upfront, we have to get those guys ready to play."

And those multiple looks by the defense is helping accelerate the learning curve of a talented yet youthful offensive line at certain positions. The baptism by fire in practice by the Hornets' D is helping with the O-Line's preparation not only for the season-opening contest against Bethune-Cookman in the MEAC-SWAC Challenge, but the entire season.

"I think it will," Barlow said of the experience gained by the offensive linemen and its daily battles against the ASU defense. "You're talking about a defense that ranked high in the conference and in the nation in several categories and has a lot of returning starters, so they play fast. With our freshmen and some of the red shirt players from a year ago who will be playing, they understand the game will be played fast. Hopefully, they will be able to diagnose things once we get into game competition and be able to perform well."

The Hornets return to practice Wednesday at 8 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.

INFORMATION SOURCE: Alabama State University Athletics