ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Albany State kicked off the start of the David Bowser era on Saturday morning. The Golden Rams took to the blue turf and held their first scrimmage of the 2026 season, with the defense drawing the most attention.

Defense sets the tone

The “Dirty Blue” defense forced three fumbles, recorded an interception, and generated four sacks during the scrimmage. Defensive coordinator Marcus Hilliard said the unit came out ready to compete.

“I think we did some good things today,” Hilliard said. “And we just got to keep stacking. Like I told those guys, we came out here and we were ready to compete. We saw some young guys do some good things for us.”

Hilliard added that no injuries were recorded during the session, which he called the biggest positive of the day.

Front seven stands out

Interior pressure from the Rams on the defensive line drew attention during the scrimmage, with players penetrating the middle and creating opportunities for outside pass rushers. Head coach David Bowser addressed physicality and execution as priorities heading into the regular season.

“Biggest thing I wanted to make sure was we were physical both sides of the ball on the line, which we were,” Bowser said. “The biggest thing, too, is once you get physical on the line, is that we execute. So we got to clean that up. Timing is going to be key.”

Bowser described the scrimmage as well-structured and said it gave the program its first look at what the team could resemble by the opener against Florida A&M University.

Freshmen make early impression

Several freshmen made plays on the defensive side of the ball. Former Early County standout Jimmy Jones was among the freshmen noted as a possible contributor this season. Bowser said the team plans to travel only six freshmen, with defensive players among those being considered.

Redshirt junior defensive back Evan Wynn said the veteran unit is behind the younger players.

“I firmly believe whenever them young guys, they get top two with the rest of us, it’s going to be a great show,” Wynn said.

Golden Rams open at FAMU on Aug. 29

Albany State will travel to Tallahassee on Saturday, Aug. 29, to face Florida A&M University in the season opener. The Rattlers are coached by Quinn Gray, the former Albany State head coach, and their roster includes several former Golden Rams.

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