Aug. 24, 2006

Washington, D.C. - First year Georgetown University head football coach Kevin Kelly experienced his first taste of live game action with the Hoyas this past weekend as the team went through its first intra-squad scrimmage at the Multi-Sport Field.

After 11 days of the team's preseason camp, including 14 total practices and three two-a-day practices last week, Georgetown hit the Hilltop in game situations on Saturday.

"It was a typical first preseason scrimmage," Kelly said from his office on Wednesday afternoon. "The offense came out very, very slow and the defense played very well. In the latter part of the scrimmage, we kind of flip-flopped some things and the offense finished strong and the defense didn't do as well as we had hoped."

And while both units had their ups and downs, Kelly was pleased with the performance overall. "On the offensive side, I think (sophomore) Emir Davis has emerged as the kind of back that we thought he could be," Kelly said. "On the defensive side, I think we just had a solid overall performance and I think that's the type of unit we're going to be, one that is very team-oriented."

Kelly has also been pleased with the progress of his newcomers. "The play of our freshmen has been very impressive," Kelly said. "Some of these kids have come in and are really pushing the starters. We're going to have some productive players down the road."

There are just under two weeks left to the team's season opener, a fact Kelly is reminded of every time he sees the countdown clock on the Georgetown website (www.guhoyas.com).

"It was a great lesson for the kids to know that we have to come out quickly and finish strong," he said.

Kelly has been pleased with the team's performance through the first two weeks and expects to see it carry over as they get ready for another scrimmage this weekend. "I've been most impressed with the work ethic of the kids," Kelly said. "They're buying into what we're trying to get accomplished as far as the tempo of practice and how we want to play football here at Georgetown."

The tempo and urgency will pick up later this week. "The doubles portion of practice ends on Thursday and we'll kick into Holy Cross mode, full-time starting later this week," Kelly said. "I don't feel pressure, but I feel the excitement building every day. I know our players want to get out on the field and the coaches do too. We're really excited for our first game, but at the same time, we're trying to get all those fine details ready for that first game.

"We want to have our checklists set and we want to make sure we've gone over everything so we can kick off the 2006 season on a good note."

Georgetown opens the 2006 season on Saturday, September 2, hosting Holy Cross in a key Patriot League matchup at the Multi-Sport Field. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.