Coach Smith: Lincoln scrimmage not reflective of practices

Kimbo Ferguson of Lincoln carries the ball as Jordan Reddick looks to make a tackle during a scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. Lincoln will host its spring game Saturday, April 14.
Kimbo Ferguson of Lincoln carries the ball as Jordan Reddick looks to make a tackle during a scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Dwight T. Reed Stadium. Lincoln will host its spring game Saturday, April 14.

The Lincoln football team reached the halfway point of its spring season Saturday.

Blue Tigers coach Steven Smith said Saturday afternoon's scrimmage - the first of three scrimmages on three consecutive Saturdays at Dwight T. Reed Stadium - wasn't reflective of his team's practices leading up to the intrasquad competition.

"We have a lot of good competition and we've been playing fairly well," Smith said. "I was kind of disappointed that offensively, we didn't do what we've been doing these past couple of days.

"You don't want to have good day, good day, good day, and then in the end fall down."

Lincoln's scrimmage consisted of 60 plays, with three 20-play sessions broken up by five-minute breaks.

The Blue Tiger offense managed just one touchdown on its nine full drives.

"We got down, we got tired," Smith said. "We didn't finish like I wanted us to finish."

On the other hand, the offense did not commit a turnover, which plagued Lincoln during the 2017 season. The Blue Tigers ranked 152nd in NCAA Division II with 27 turnovers and was 167th out of 168 teams in turnover margin at minus-21.

"Turnovers can cost you. That was a big thing," Smith said. " I don't think we had any turnovers today, so that was a big thing. It keeps us in the game when we're playing on all cylinders."

Lincoln's lone touchdown came on a screen pass from quarterback Devin Coleman Jr. to wide receiver Dre Alston for a 40-yard gain during the third session of the scrimmage.

Prior to that play, the offense was whistled for a false start penalty to make it second-and-14. Smith said the Blue Tigers need to improve their down-and-distance situations in the upcoming season and not fall behind the chains.

"We have to be able to drive the ball, keep a good drive going and finish," he said.

The offense used three quarterbacks. Drake Davidson took snaps during the first session, while Henry Ogala started the second session. Coleman Jr. finished up the second session and played the whole third session.

After the scrimmage, Smith praised Davidson for his leadership, coming to practice early and staying afterward this spring to work on a few improvements to his game.

"I thought he worked well in the pocket, I thought he made some good throws," Smith said of Davidson, who began the 2017 season as Lincoln's third-string quarterback but started behind center the last five games. "We're probably going to give him more reps next week. He'll probably take about 30 next week out of the 60."

Lincoln's spring roster consists of 57 players, which includes transfer players who joined at semester and 11 redshirt freshmen who did not play last fall.

"I feel like we have the right kids here to get it done," Smith said. "But now we have to get them to understand how to play in the GLVC.

"A lot of times when you're a newcomer and you've never played in a certain conference, it's different. You have to understand how to play in the GLVC. You cannot make mistakes in this conference."

Saturday was the eighth of 14 spring practices for Lincoln, leading up to the spring game at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 14. Before that, the Blue Tigers will hold another scrimmage at 1 p.m. next Saturday.

Smith emphasized he likes where his team is right now compared to last spring, adding, "You don't win championships in the fall, you win them in the spring and the summer."

"I know everything's not going to happen overnight, but we're making progress," Smith said. "I know there are going to be some times when we don't want it, but there's going to be some regress. But we have to continue to move forward."