Hornets host scrimmage, alumni tailgate as spring ends

May 13—HUNTSVILLE — Coming off a run to the regional quarterfinals, Huntsville is back on the gridiron for its usual spring practice as it gears up for the next season.

With a bulk of the team returning, the Hornets have made a swift return back to the field as they have hit the turf nine times this spring.

As there is one week remaining, Huntsville still has four practice opportunities and a spring game to put on the finishing touches before getting into the summer workout programs.

"It's been good. When we missed school last week, it threw our schedule off. I thought we had a great scrimmage and it was good to have a bunch of alumni back here," Huntsville head coach Rodney Southern said. "Execution-wise, there's a lot of good stuff on film. We have four practices left and hopefully, it will help move us in the right direction."

Entering the offseason, Huntsville had a few holes to fill after graduation. They lost a Division-I safety and a handful of guys over the middle on defense. But with the season they had last year, Huntsville gained depth in some of those spots.

Sophomores Brett Carroll and Kenneth Scott III are both set to return to the Hornets secondary after getting plenty of reps in high-leverage moments. Scott made the most of his opportunity after Isaiah Collins was shifted to safety in the middle part of the season.

However, both guys who played safety for the Hornets to end the season graduated and left those spots open.

The depth has created a lot to look for for the Hornets though. Huntsville was able to run three full groups during the scrimmage.

"I think it's been good. We have to start before baseball is over so we had some guys that were in and out," Southern said. "I feel good. We can go in three full groups and they know what to do. We have to finish it up this week and we will give them some fun with the spring game."

Not only was this an opportunity to see the team scrimmage, but Huntsville saw several former players for the event. In attendance were Ed Bobino, Matthew Long, AJ Wilson, Briceon Hayes and several other members from past teams that helped build the Huntsville program to where they are now.

Southern honored them on the field, along with the parents of the current players, after the scrimmage and opened up the field house for everybody to see the new facilities that opened up in the middle of this season.

"The biggest thing is there were some alumni that hadn't seen the field house and we wanted that. We wanted them to feel comfortable coming back here and being a part of it," Southern said.

Huntsville will wrap up it's spring season on Thursday, May 16, with a spring game. The Hornets season program will start on June 3 and span throughout the summer months. The first fall practice is scheduled for Aug. 12.