Defense Comes up Big in Eagles' Second Scrimmage of Fall Camp
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JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. ? The defense nearly matched the offense score-for-score in Tuesday morning's scrimmage at Burke-Tarr Stadium. No 9-ranked Carson-Newman College lined up for its second full-contact scrimmage before its annual media and picture day, with the highlights coming from two big interception returns from senior safety Mario Russell (Columbus, Ohio) and redshirt freshman defensive back Jaycob Coleman (Norton, Va.).

Big plays aside, Eagles head coach Ken Sparks, now in his 31st season, was not thrilled with what he saw Tuesday morning.

"It ended up being a pretty good scrimmage before it was over with even though the blocking and tackling has got so much distance to go," Sparks said. "I am optimistic that before the season's over we'll be a decent football team. How long that's going to take, I don't know."

Russell is no stranger to making a big splash for the Eagles. Last season the All-South Atlantic Conference defender posted 102 tackles, six forced fumbles, 18 passes defended and one interception. If there was an aspect of Russell's game that was missing it was the picks. Of his 18 passes defended, almost half could have been picked off and taken the other way.

Tuesday morning, Russell showed what he's been honing, snatching a pass from backup quarterback Aaron Large (Corryton, Tenn.) and taking it to the house for a touchdown. Russell feels that with the improvements on the Eagles' defensive line, his tackles stats might go down, but he thinks his interception stats will more than make up for it.

"I've been working on my hands a whole lot," Russell said. "Our defensive line is going to come through so I might not be able to get 100 tackles this year."

Russell is the old man of the C-N secondary and one of just three returning starters on defense. Issac Kinley (Johnson City, Tenn.) and Oliver Davis (Acworth, Ga.) will be taking over the cornerback spots. Dontaye Hall (Gallatin, Tenn.) will line up at strong safety. With all the new, young faces Russell has been an extra coach on the field.

"I've learned a whole lot more about these young guys and they (the C-N coaches) throw them at me too," Russell said. "They're quick and have a good feel for the game. Being the old guy is fun because they trust the fact that what I'm telling them is true."

Russell had a lot to be proud of when Coleman picked off a pass from quarterback Doug Belk and returned it for a touchdown later in the scrimmage.

"We were an offensive defensive secondary today," Sparks said. "That's what we want."

The offense saw some big plays from freshman wide receiver Cameron Schlagel (Naples, Fla.). Schlagel grabbed a tipped ball out of the air and took it in for a touchdown in the early part of the scrimmage. Later he took a short hitch pass and turned on the jets for another score. Schlagel has worked his way into the two-deep depth chart and could see playing time as a starter when the Eagles go three-wide.

"We've got a very talented group of freshmen," Sparks said. "We've got some that are going to really impact this place for the next four or five years. If someone is going to get us, they better get us this year."