Holloman plays spring game despite ineligibility

Those who wanted to see Timmy Holloman scampering around Houck Stadium again had their chance Saturday afternoon.

Holloman carried seven times in Southeast Missouri State's spring game, his first action in public since he was ruled ineligible by the NCAA following the Redhawks' fifth game of 2007, a Sept. 29 loss to Eastern Illinois.

While Holloman didn't rush the ball a lot as Southeast explored its passing game, the senior-to-be said it felt good to be on the field in competition again.

"I can't even explain it," Holloman said. "I'm at a loss for words."

Holloman, who picked up 3 yards on the day with his longest run covering 4 yards, was more effective in the passing game. He had a 14-yard reception on Southeast's third play of the afternoon and turned a shovel pass from Houston Lillard into a 13-yard gain at the end of the first quarter.

"We started off with a lot of passes just to see what we have in the passing game," Holloman said. "We know we can block for the run, but we just wanted to see what we had on the passing."

Serving a one-year suspension as part of his ineligibility, Holloman won't be able to put the pads on again in competition until Oct. 4, when Southeast plays at Jacksonville State.

"I'm counting it down so much," he said. "I can't wait."

Neither the NCAA nor the university has disclosed the reason for Holloman's ineligibility, and he wasn't about to, either.

"No comment," Holloman said. "I can't talk about it."

He said being sidelined from competition has been difficult.

"It's been real hard," Holloman said. "My teammates have been helping me with it, so that's made it a little bit better. Since I've been sitting out so long, I've gotten close with most of them, and that's helping out a lot."

Holloman plans to get even closer with his teammates over the next few months, as the Redhawks are making a concerted effort to spend the summer training together in Cape Girardeau.

"It all starts with the summer," Holloman said. "We plan that the whole team is going to be here, and we're just going to start off from there."

Despite missing the last six games in a 3-8 campaign, Holloman led the Redhawks in rushing with 655 yards. He enters his senior season just four yards short of the 2,000-yard plateau.

After sitting out the first five games of 2008, Holloman will play the final seven, including three home games — Oct. 25 vs. Tennessee State, Nov. 1 vs. Eastern Kentucky and Nov. 15 vs. Tennessee-Martin.

Southeast coach Tony Samuel said Holloman has remained a key part of the team during his period of ineligibility.

"He's part of the team and he does everything with the team," Samuel said. "This is his senior year, and I think he's doing a great job working out and training."

Switching positions

Jared Van Slyke, who seems to be making the move from quarterback to receiver after an impressive spring game performance with three catches for 93 yards, is one of many Southeast players switching spots this year.

The most notable in-season changes last year moved opening-game starting quarterback Victor Anderson and his brother, receiver Vincent Anderson, to the safety positions. They didn't play in Saturday's spring game due to injuries.

With nine safeties and rovers on the roster Saturday, senior Kendall Magana is moving to a different position in the secondary — cornerback.

"To be honest, our team needed me there," Magana said. "We needed some depth at cornerback, and I love it. I fit in well at the position. I just think my instincts suit me well out there."

Magana was the third-leading tackler on the team last year and served as one of the captains.

"The coaches have done a really good job putting people in places where they can make plays," he said. "I think they're just focused on getting as many athletes on the field as they can. We have a lot of confidence in the coaches and where they're going to put people. I think the team is really starting to buy in for the third year, to be honest with you."

Another one of the moves has Ben Gugler going from tight end to defensive end, where he was all-state in high school and where he played in junior college. The 6-foot-4, 255-pound senior was a force Saturday, batting down a pass on the second play and finishing with a team-leading three sacks.

"He surprised me a lot today," Magana said of Gugler. "I don't know how many sacks he had but he was in their backfield all day."

Said Samuel: "You can see he is more comfortable on the defensive side of the ball. The rust is coming off. After that year off [from defense], his play recognition was a little rusty and you can see it improving."

Walter Peoples, who last year moved from rover to receiver, caught one ball for 12 yards.

Offensive woes

Southeast came out gunning in the first period Saturday, using a shot-gun spread offense exclusively.

The Redhawks ran 28 plays in the first period — the only quarter where the clock did not run continuously — including three punts. Lillard threw 20 times, completing seven and getting picked off three times. Three different receivers were unable to handle four passes, and Lillard also was sacked three times, including once off a bad snap.

Southeast ran two times, with Mike Jones picking up 10 yards and Lillard gaining 1 yard after a bad snap.

Holloman touched the ball only on a 14-yard pass play in the period, which ended with the defense leading 31-2.

Samuel said the offense was limited in its use of the playbook, mainly hoping to get through the afternoon without any injuries.

"We sped up the clock, and still I thought we ran too many plays," Samuel said. "We'll throw the ball [this season], but we're not going to throw the ball that much. In spring ball, you're always working on something because you only have 15 practices.

"I wanted to see timing," he added. "This was our first day working against the clock. Fundamentals is what we've been working on — fundamentals, footwork and technique and patterns.

"We came out unscathed, that was the key."

Defensive dominance

In addition to Gugler's big day on defense, others stood out:

Sophomore safety Aris Bowen had a team-leading six tackles, including a one-on-one takedown of Holloman for a 5-yard loss on a sweep.

Cornerback Josh Woods, a junior college transfer, picked off a pass by Lillard in the left flat and ran it back 90 yards for a touchdown.

"We have some work to do in all areas," Magana said, "but we do feel confident coming into this year. We have a lot of guys with a lot of experience and that's a good position to be in coming into the year."

Local line

Tight end Brad Crader, a junior from Jackson via Truman State, had his lone reception wiped out by a penalty. Samuel said Crader, Brad Brown and incoming freshman Antonio Garritano figure into the tight end picture for the fall.

When Crader made his grab, his biggest fan was left tackle Matt James. "That's my roommate," James cheered from the sideline.

James, a senior-to-be from Jackson, was a starter last season and on Saturday battled a painful tooth that requires a root canal.

Garritano, who will finish his high school days at Jackson this spring, was on the sideline Saturday along with high school teammate Marcus Harris, a quarterback and senior-to-be at Jackson; and Perryville senior Kris Cottner, who also will join the Southeast team this fall.

Harris said he's ready to embark on summer camps in hopes of improving on Jackson's 11-1 season that ended in the Class 5 semifinal round.

Scoreboard

While scoring for the spring game is plenty confusing, the lack of a scoreboard at Houck compounded matters Saturday. The scoreboard was recently removed to make way for the residence hall/football locker rooms under construction just beyond the west end zone.

Athletic director Don Kaverman said no decision has been made for the scoreboard for 2008 and beyond, but after a meeting last week to discuss possibilities, he won't be surprised if it ends up just beyond the east end zone, where boosters park their vehicles.

Possibilities include a new scoreboard with better display, more messaging options and an improved sound system.

The building on the west end of Houck is scheduled for completion by the fall of 2009.