The Samford University football team concluded its spring practice with a spring game on April 16 at Pete Hanna Stadium, where the defense defeated the offense by a score of 34-20.
This event marked the first spring game for John Grass as Samford’s head coach and his staff. The contest provided an opportunity for players to showcase their skills in front of fans, students, and university spirit teams.
“I thought it was fantastic,” Grass said about the event. “This was the first sprig game; we’ll do this every year. The student body really showed up, our dance team and cheerleaders did a great job. Our fans showed up, it looked like a fall game, the crowd did. There was a lot of excitement, we kept it moving, we wanted it to be a fast-paced deal. We’ve had three really solid scrimmages to evaluate our guys, and tonight was just going out there and having fun and we did that.”
The scrimmage consisted of four quarters with varying lengths: 15 minutes in the first quarter, followed by quarters lasting 12, 10, and eight minutes respectively. Between quarters, fan contests were held to engage attendees.
A unique scoring system allowed the defense to earn points for turnovers (6 points), three-and-outs (3 points), turnovers on downs (3 points), forced punts (1 point), and defensive touchdowns (12 points). Offense used standard scoring methods but could also attempt two-point or four-point conversions from different yard lines.
Defensively, Samford recorded four three-and-outs, one turnover on downs, one forced punt, and three interceptions—two by Corrion Tyson and one by Lawson Estes. On offense, quarterbacks Charlie Gilliams, Ryan Oliver, Coulter Cleland and James McGinn all participated. McGinn threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Preston Bird while Oliver scored on a 36-yard run; Gilliam led drives resulting in field goals from Ty Ippolito (46 yards) and Jake Garner (22 yards).
Looking ahead to next season after wrapping up spring practice under new leadership,
the Bulldogs are scheduled to open their season against North Alabama in Huntsville on Aug. 29.
