Sparks Begins 30th Fall at Mossy Creek as Eagles Report to Camp
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The 30th edition of a Ken Sparks' coached Carson-Newman football team reported to fall camp on Wednesday to begin preparations for the 2009 season.
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. - The 30th edition of a Ken Sparks'
coached Carson-Newman football team reported to fall camp on
Wednesday to begin preparations for the 2009 season.
Sparks, who is the fourth winningest active coach in college
football with 276 career wins, leads a 170-man Eagle squad which is
the preseason favorite to capture the South Atlantic Conference
title. C-N also had 10 players named to the preseason All-SAC teams
released late last week.
The Eagles will hold teams meetings throughout Wednesday and
Thursday before practicing for the first time on Thursday afternoon
in Burke-Tarr Stadium at 5 p.m. They will don full pads for the
first time this fall on Monday, with full scrimmages scheduled for
next Friday and Saturday.
Carson-Newman opens its season on Aug. 27 at Winona State (Minn.)
at 8 p.m. The Eagles were 7-4 last season, winning their 20th South
Atlantic Conference title and advancing to the NCAA Division II
Playoffs.
Carson-Newman Head Coach, Ken Sparks:
"It's always an exciting time to get everybody in with a fresh
start and headed in a direction that will hopefully not only build
a good football team, but also build good people for the future...I
guess the No. 1 interest right now is to try to get everybody to
give what they've got and the gifts that God has gifted them with
in order to be a team...It's not easy getting everybody on the same
page right away. It's a great opportunity for all of us, and I
can't wait to see what all is going to happen...We're thin in some
places, as far as experience is concerned, so there is going to be
an opportunity for young people to step up and play...Eighty
percent of it is in the heart, so I just hope we can work on it 80
percent and get going here."
