Benedict Spring Game Set for Saturday

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers will hold their annual Purple-Gold spring football game on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.

Admission is free.

The spring game is the culmination of spring practice for the Tigers. Benedict has 61 players on the spring roster, and head coach Mike White says the Tigers have progressed over the last couple of weeks.

“It has been pretty good. We definitely are better from when we started. With several guys returning, we’re further ahead with our offensive and defensive schemes,” White said. “We’ve been lucky we haven’t had any major injures. It’s been a pretty smooth spring.”

White said junior defensive lineman Charles Williams has been one of the standouts.

“He’s having a good spring, coming off a real good season,” White said about Williams, who was named to the SIAC All-Conference second team last season. “Offensively, Darius Nelson is having a good spring. I’m pleased with both of those guys as far as their leadership.”

The Tigers need to replace senior running back George Myers Jr., who finished with 1,184 rushing yards and was named the SIAC Most Valuable Player and All-Region. White said Raheem Jennings and KaDarius Garrett have been shouldering most of the running load this spring, but the coaching staff also expects to bring in some new faces in the fall who will challenge for playing time at running back.

The Tigers return a pair of quarterbacks in Mason Duckett and Phillip Brown. White said Brown, who threw for a team-high 627 yards last season as a freshman, has worked hard to improve.

“Philip has done a good job this spring. He’s done a good job both on and off the field. I don’t know if we have anyone working harder to get better. You like to see that out of your quarterback,” White said.

The spring game will start with 7-on-7 drills and offensive line vs. the defensive line drills. Following that, the offense will go against the defense for about 60 plays.

The Purple-Gold game will feature the offense taking on the defense. The offense can score points by scoring a touchdown (6 points), a field goal (3 points), an extra point (1 point), gaining a first down (1 point), a run for 20 or more yards (3 points), or a pass for 25 or more yards (3 points).

The defense can score points by a defensive touchdown (7 points), a missed field goal (3 points), a missed extra point (1 point), a turnover (4 points), a drive stop (2 points), a three-and-out (3 points), a sack (2 points), a forced fumble (1 point), and a tackle for a loss (1 point).

The offense defeated the defense 33-14 in last year’s contest.

The Tigers went 5-6 in 2016. Benedict opens the 2017 season on Oct. 2 at home against Livingstone College.