Issue date: 4/30/09 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Ben Kleppinger Quarterback T. J. Pryor (right) is tackled by fellow redshirt freshman Chris Cunnihman after being forced out of the pocket in the Spring Game on Sunday.

A month of practice culminated in the Spring Game for the football Colonels Sunday afternoon at the Glenn Marshall School Athletic Complex. Despite the annual contest being held off campus and not at Roy Kidd Stadium, hundreds of fans turned out to get a look at the faces they will see come fall.

It was the offense and redshirt freshman T. J. Pryor who shined for the Colonels. Pryor racked up 202 passing yards on 13 completions. The Louisville native was also just as effective on the ground. He thrived in the spread offense, rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Pryor spent the whole fall on the scout team, so he was used to playing against the number-one defense.

Trevor Hoskins, who was the number-two quarterback this past fall, was 7-14 for 74 yards and two picks.

"Me and Trevor are probably going to compete a lot," Pryor said. "He's a great guy and a great quarterback, so it's going to be hard and tough to be the starting quarterback."

Track star Shannon Davis was just as impressive as Pryor. Davis, who was competing in the EKU Open just a week before, was now outrunning defenders in shoulder pads. He had four catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Davis also took a kickoff back - back to the house, that is. The speedster took the kickoff back 98 yards for a touchdown.

"The kickoff return team did an excellent job," Davis said. "Everyone executed and made the blocks they need to make, and once I see daylight and see the crease, I'm gonna hit it, and that's it. It's up to me to be a playmaker and make guys miss, and that's basically what happened."

Aaron Bradley picked up right where he left off in the fall. The running back picked up 85 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. He left the game in the third quarter after being hit in the knee on a tackle. There has been no word on the extent of his injury. Bradley hurt the same knee in the season-opener against Cincinnati last fall.

The much-depleted defense capitalized on five turnovers, two of which were interceptions by Antonio Fredrick and David Ogunlari. Fredrick took his pick back 80 yards for a touchdown.

Jake Tamaska led the defense with nine tackles, one for a loss.

The offense won the game, 43-31.

"I thought it was good competitive scrimmage," head coach Dean Hood said. "The offense did a lot better job then the defense when the ball was in the air. I thought that was a big difference. The offensive line at times I thought came off with a lot more intensity than the d-line. But all in all, I thought there was some good times on both sides of the ball: some good hitting, some good physical play."

Logan O'Connor hit four of six field goals. His two misses were from more than 40 yards.

The Colonels open up next season on the road in Bloomington, Ind., against the University of Indiana on September 3 at 8 p.m.

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