Coming out of spring practice, most coaches usually put their defense in front of their offense in terms of readiness to play. St. Augustine’s Michael Coasta came away from Saturday’s Blue-Gray scrimmage feeling better about his offense than his defense. That’s not surprising, considering his team averaged over 30 points per game last season.
“We had some potent offense,” he said. “Even though we’re going one and two, we’re putting points on the board. If we can average that per game, I think we’ll be alright.”
Last season’s starting quarterback, Teddy Bacote, didn’t participate in the intra-squad scrimmage, giving A.J. Gilford and Alex Munro time under center. Guilford threw for two touchdown passes, including a 70 yard strike to Newton Miller III. Munro connected with Herman Reeves for a 95-yard touchdown pass.
Defensively, Costa said he was pleased with the improvement of Christopher Roberts. The defensive end recorded just 15 tackles and two sacks as a redshirt freshman in 2012, but Costa expects bigger things out of him in 2013.
“He came on strong for us last year at the defensive end spot,” he said. ”
Overall, Costa said his biggest concern between now and the start of the season is bulking up on depth. Several high school recruits and potential-recruits watched from the sidelines as some of St. Aug’s less experienced players saw solid playing time.
“Our starters are doing well,” he said. “We just need to get our backup guys ready to play.”