Tribe Set to Start Spring Practice

Spring Game Set for Saturday, April 12

03/14/08 4:35PM

Williamsburg, Va. - The College of William and Mary’s football program is poised to open spring drills Saturday, March 15th, for the first of what will be roughly 15 practice dates over the next month. The practices will culminate with the team’s annual Spring Game, which will be held on April 12 at Zable Stadium.

The Tribe will be preparing for its 29th season of football under head coach Jimmye Laycock and will be looking to improve on its 4-7 record from a season ago. The team’s prospects look bright, as it will enter the drills with a combined 18 returning starters (an even nine from each side of the ball).

Offensively, the team will return senior all-conference quarterback Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) to lead an attack that averaged 29 points and nearly 400-yards of total offense (396.2) a contest in 2007. Phillips will enter the season as one of the league’s most experienced signal callers,having started 22 career contests, including all 11 a season ago. Fellow senior and returning all-conference performer, wide receiver Elliott Mack (Irvington, NJ), figures to be one of the top playmakers on what should be an explosive Tribe offense. Mack led the squad in both receptions (46) and yards (849) a season ago and scored a total of six TDs (five receiving, one rushing). Overall, the unit returns six of its top seven receivers from a year ago. Sophomore tailback Courtland Marriner (Chesapeake, Va.) is the top rusher from a season ago (518 yards on 115 attempts) and leads a ground game that returns all but 207 yards of the 1,299 total rushing yards from 2007.

With one full-season in the program under his belt, second-year Tribe defensive coordinator Bob Shoop figures to make a significant improvement over last season’s young unit that surrendered 427 total points. Returning all-conference cornerback Derek Cox (Greenville, N.C.) figures to be the cornerstone of a secondary that returns all four starters. Cox ended his junior campaign with 51 total tackles and three interceptions. Overall, the unit returns its top nine tacklers from last season, including junior safety David Caldwell (Montclair, NJ), who led the defense with 107 total tackles (61 solo) and had 5.5 tackles for losses. Fellow junior defensive end Adrian Tracy (Sterling, Va.) had team-highs in both sacks (three) and total tackles for loss (9.5) in 2007 and should challenge for national honors this fall. Another solid honors candidate is returning starting middle linebacker Josh Rutter (Union Bridge, Md.), who was the team’s second leading tackler last fall with 95 stops. Rutter came into last season somewhat limited by an off-season surgery, but enters the spring at full-speed and will be counted on to be the unit’s leader and playmaker.

The Tribe is preparing for the 2008 season-opener, which will be a trip to Raleigh, N.C. to face ACC opponent North Carolina State on Sept. 6. Also, in what will be a rare treat for the Tribe faithful, the College will host six home contests at Zable this season. The last time W&M had six scheduled regular season home games was 1988. The Tribe home schedule is highlighted by in-state games with VMI (Sept. 13), Norfolk State (Sept. 20) and Colonial Athletics Associate rival University of Richmond (Nov. 22).

The College’s spring practice schedule will consist of sessions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. A complete spring prospectus, with tentative practice dates and updated stats, bios and team notes will be available on TribeAthletics.com by the end of next week. Check back regularly to the TribeAthletics.com site for photos, news and complete coverage of the Tribe’s spring practice.