Golden Lions have new look, same goal

By Mike Marzelli

OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The Arkansas-Pine Bluff football team debuted a new look at the start of preseason camp Monday afternoon but there was still plenty about the Golden Lions that appeared familiar.

Several returnees from last year’s Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division championship team, including SWAC Offensive Player of the Year Chris Wallace and rushing champion Martell Mallett, paced the Lions through a morning conditioning test and their first practice of the 2007 season in new gold helmets as they began the process of turning the page from a historic 2006.

The players generally approved of the new helmets, which were brought in to replace the black headgear UAPB had worn since the late 1990’s at the behest of head coach Mo Forte, and veterans like Wallace also embraced the symbolism behind the change as the team met last night following dinner to last season’s highlight film one last time.

“Coach Forte told us, watch last year one more time, take those rings off and put it all behind you because none of it matters any more,” Wallace said. “We were the SWAC West champions last year and that is awesome to reflect on but now we need to forget that and become our own team. That’s where the new helmet look comes in because we have a lot of the same key guys back but we need to create our own look and our own personality and not just try to live in last year.”

Forte had been trying to change the color of the team’s helmets since arriving at UAPB in 2004 and is still undecided about whether decals will be added by the start of the season. The team’s helmet featured a black, interlocking ‘A’ and ‘U’ design similar to the logo Auburn University uses when it last wore gold helmets in the late 1990’s.

“I like the look and I really wanted a change but when I first came they couldn’t get a helmet with the right color gold to match the jersey,” he said. “They finally found one that was close enough with the right color so we changed it.

“I’d like to put a decal or some lettering on it but I don’t know if we have enough time to order them.”

UAPB worked out in the new headgear and shorts for close to two hours despite near-100 degree heat at old Pumphrey Stadium and scholarship players were also required to complete a conditioning test in the morning that required players to run a mile-and-a-half by certain time limits that were determined by position.

Forte plans to put the Lions through another helmets-only practice this afternoon before donning shoulders pads Wednesday and Thursday and full pads on Friday. The first scrimmage of the preseason is tentatively scheduled for Saturday.

“I thought the overall conditioning of the team wasn’t bad but we still have a long way to go,” Forte said. “First days are always a little slow but our tempo was good and the guys who have been here were really in good shape. It seemed like the guys we have returning were able to retain a lot of what we taught last year and if we can get some of our younger guys to hang with the older guys and see how they work and pick up things quickly, we’ll be in good shape.

Bouncing back

John Sibley and Mickey Dean were supposed to play major roles for UAPB last season, but after each missed nearly all of 2006 due to injury they were both eager to get back on the field Monday.

Dean, the 2005 SWAC Freshman of the Year, still needs to lose 10 pounds to get down to a playing weight near 215 pounds but says his injured ankle is “back to 100 percent” and that he is eager to team with Mallett in UAPB’s backfield.

“I still have to do some more running to get in shape but I’m just going to take it one day at a time and keep my head up,” Dean said. “I can’t wait to get back out there and do my thing because we have a lot of players back and we’re going to be clicking right away and I want to be a part of that.”

Sibley, a 2006 preseason All-SWAC defensive lineman, said his broken leg has healed completely and “felt great” during Monday afternoon’s workout.

“I’ve had no problems with the leg and it’s given me all the support I need,” Sibley said. “I’m just thankful to be back working hard.”

Along the front line

Forte hasn’t hidden the fact that addressing his team’s decimated offensive line is his top priority during camp.

13 offensive linemen worked out with offensive coordinator Jonathan Cannon, including lone holdover Patrick Kapuniai and a handful of junior college transfers.

Kapuniai is returning for his senior season after missing last year with a knee injury and is pegged to start at center while transfers Bobby Torres and Jordan Lowe of Phoenix (Az.) College and Jonathan Portia of East Los Angeles Community College are all in the mix up front.

“We have a lot of work to do and we have to see quickly where guys fit in there,” Forte said. “We’ll be able to identify that when we get the pads on and see who wants to really hit.”

Flowers in, Cole out

New tight ends and special teams coach Otis Flowers participated in the first practice of his second stint at UAPB Monday after joining the Lions’ coaching staff over the summer.

Flowers, who served as secondary coach under Forte when he arrived in 2004, replaced former assistant Phil Cole, who left Forte’s staff in the offseason to return to his native New York.