Red Wolves begin fall drills today

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen B. Thornton CAMPUS CHEER: Arkansas State University football players Tres Houston, left, Brandon Cox, center, and Frankie Jackson, right, laugh over their game-console basketball game in a player-recreation room before visiting with the media on campus Wednesday in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves begin fall practice today under first-year coach Blake Anderson, preparing for their Aug. 30 opener against visiting Montana State.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen B. Thornton CAMPUS CHEER: Arkansas State University football players Tres Houston, left, Brandon Cox, center, and Frankie Jackson, right, laugh over their game-console basketball game in a player-recreation room before visiting with the media on campus Wednesday in Jonesboro. The Red Wolves begin fall practice today under first-year coach Blake Anderson, preparing for their Aug. 30 opener against visiting Montana State.

JONESBORO -- First-year head coach Blake Anderson today conducts the first of 18 scheduled fall-camp football practices at Arkansas State University.

The practices, scheduled for 8:35 a.m. at Centennial Bank Stadium or the football practice fields on the ASU campus, are open to the public. Fan Appreciation Day is scheduled at 10 a.m. Aug. 16 inside Centennial Bank Stadium, where the Red Wolves open the season Aug. 30 against Montana State with a 6 p.m. kickoff.

ASU, three-time defending Sun Belt Conference champion and back-to-back winner of the GoDaddy Bowl, returns seven all-conference performers among 10 starters from last year's 8-5 team. Senior linebacker Qushaun Lee is the 2014 SBC preseason defensive player of the year. Other preseason first-team honorees are junior defensive end Chris Stone, junior defensive back Rocky Hayes, senior defensive back Sterling Young and junior wide receiver-returner J.D. McKissic.

Anderson, formerly on North Carolina coach Larry Fedora's staff, begins his first season as a Division I head coach. He succeeded Bryan Harsin, who returned home to coach Boise State after one season in Jonesboro. Hugh Freeze (Ole Miss) and Gus Malzahn (Auburn) took Southeastern Conference jobs after coaching the Red Wolves to the Sun Belt title.

The Red Wolves, picked second in the SBC preseason coaches' poll, have won 28 games over the last three seasons, tying for the 20th-most victories nationally during that span.

The Montana State game is on ESPN3. Other TV games for the Red Wolves are Sept. 6 at Tennessee (SEC Network), Sept. 13 at Miami (ESPNU), Oct. 21 at Louisiana-Lafayette (ESPN2) and Nov. 20 at Texas State (ESPNU).

Besides Montana State, ASU's other home games are Sept. 20 against Utah State, Oct. 4 against Louisiana-Monroe, Nov. 8 against South Alabama, Nov. 15 against Appalachian State and Nov. 29 against New Mexico State.

Season tickets are on sale from the ASU ticket office, located at the Convocation Center's lower red entrance. For more information, call 870-972-2781 or go online at tickets.astate.edu.

Sports on 07/31/2014

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