ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) — Albany State’s defense dominated the program’s first full-pads scrimmage Saturday, while the offense went scoreless and drew scrutiny for holding penalties and an inconsistent center-quarterback exchange.

The scrimmage, held Aug. 15, gave head coach David Bowser his first extended look at the roster in a live setting. The defense was described as clearly ahead of the offense at this stage of camp.

Offense struggles with execution

The offense committed five holding penalties during the scrimmage and was unable to reach the end zone. The center-quarterback exchange was also identified as a point of concern, with backup centers described as young and in need of repetitions.

Two offensive linemen were also absent from the scrimmage. Bowser said his assessment of the unit would sharpen when they return.

“When we get these other two linemen back on Monday, I’ll have a better assessment,” Bowser said. “But all four of them did good things. You know our defense — we’ve been practicing against each other for nine, ten days. They kind of know the rhythm and what guys do well. So I won’t say that they didn’t have a good day, but I just think we get those two linemen back and we settle in on the running back position, because that wound up throwing us for a loop. We got three or four good running backs now. We got to settle that.”

Quarterback competition unresolved

Four quarterbacks are competing for the starting position. Vince Barry took the first snaps of the scrimmage. J.D. Davis, Zhay’Lyn Bell, and Xavier Irizarry are also in contention.

All quarterbacks were described as struggling to throw the football during the session. Barry was noted for his confidence and command at the line of scrimmage despite inconsistent passing.

The starting quarterback position is expected to be a focal point of practice in the coming week. Albany State opens the season against FAMU on Aug. 29 in Tallahassee.

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