State-Journal.com - Time to get started

After a less than stellar 3-8 season last year, the Kentucky State football team is hoping it can get off on the right foot Saturday night against Lane College in the Toyota Heritage Classic at Alumni Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
"Pratice has been going very well," KSU coach Fred Farrier said. "I have been very pleased with our effort and our focus. We've done a lot of maturing this offseason. I think (the 3-8 season) was an eye opener for our guys. I think it created a drive and a little bit more emphasis for them to pay attention to the details that the coaches stress."
Last season, KSU lost to Lane in Jackson, Tenn., 35-24. This season the Dragons have a new coach that is pretty familiar with the KSU football program, Trent Boykin.
"They have a new coach who has been here with me for the last three years," Farrier said. "We're very familiar with coach Boykin. One of the things that I've always stressed as a head coach is that you have to adjust to the personnel and the players that you have. I think that coach Boykin will come up with a plan that he feels will fit the players that he has.
"I think they'll do quite a bit of the same things that they've done in the past with his own twist," he added. "He'll come and try a couple of trick plays. He'll try some tricky stuff on special teams because he's naturally a special teams guy. We just hope we can weather the storm and be productive and make sure we simply take care of our end."
A part of taking care of "our end" will be getting points on the board early. Last season the Thorobreds struggled early in the game, falling behind by 12 a halftime, but then woke up offensively in the second half.
"Regardless of who the opponent is, we have to find a way to have some success early," Farrier said. "We've got to try to get some completions. We've got to have a couple of runs where our guys can get going and get some emotion and some enthusiasm. We're going to try and make an effort to start quick."
At media day last week, the quarterback position was up in the air. It was a four-way battle among senior Kevin Warner, freshmen Jerrell Noland and Leland Banks and junior Xavier Braxton.
"Kevin Warner is going to be our starter," Farrier said. "My intention is to play two quarterbacks in the first game. Jerrell Noland will be second. We will get him at least two series in the game planning for down the road, just in case something were to happen to the starting quarterback.
"Kevin has the best understanding of our offense," he added. "He understands what we want form an execution standpoint. He understands how to get us in and out of the correct plays based on how the defense lines up. He has the best understanding of where guys are supposed to be."
Noland was a redshirt last season.
With that settled, the KSU offense is one of the most experienced that Farrier has had in his tenure as head coach. The Thorobreds return four of the five starting offensive linemen, star tailback Andrew Ramsey and backup MIchael Wright as well as a deep corps of wide receivers that includes Juwan Jones, Jamaree Gordon, Deral Miller and Julian Brown.
"My goal is to get the ball to people who can make plays for us," Farrier said. "We've got three or four wide receivers who have proven they can make plays for us and a couple of guys who have come in as transfers and freshmen who also can handle getting the ball. We have a lot of options on offense."
Another question mark at the beginning of camp was at the tight end position. Zack Davis left a hole after he graduated last year.
"Our starting tight end is going to be a freshman named Jovan Washington from Cleveland, Ohio," Farrier said. "He is a really talented young man who has been one of the pleasant surprises of camp."
On defense, Farrier is looking to keep things simple and allow for his team's speed and athleticism to work for them.
"Defensively we are going to try and keep it simple for our players," Farrier said. "Our point of emphasis is to put our kids in situations where they know what they're doing and they can play fast and they can play physical.
"As the season grew on last year, we were tentative in a lot of areas," he added. "Our kids were unsure. My goal was to try to find a defensive scheme that would allow us to get some comfort to where they knew for certain where they were supposed to be, how they were supposed to do it and they can play fast.
"What I hope to see us do on defense is to settle in," he said. "There will still be that first quarter of the first game of the season where guys are going to be nervous and make some mistakes. Hopefully we can survive those mistakes."
Junior Cordell Key, who earned all-SIAC and first team all-conference honors last season, will be an anchor for the defense at linebacker. Who will join him at that position is still in question. Former Frankfort High standout and transfer from Western Kentucky University Myron Moore along with Tyler Wimsatt, Mike Johnson and freshmen Tim Wilson and Denadre Moore are all in the running to start at linebacker.
On special teams, the Breds will have to replace first team all-SIAC kicker Mauricio Garcia. Farrier is hoping that special teams will be more than just the occasional field goal or the clean up crew after a poor offensive series.
"We have to find a way to make special teams a weapon," Farrier said. "We want to control field position. If we have to punt, I want to make sure that we're changing the field position to give our defense a long field to protect. And our punt return team I want them to create a short field for our offense to have a better opportunity to score."
Overall, Farrier said he is excited about this season and the potential of the players and the program as a whole.
"This game will be a great opportunity for us to show what type of football team we have," Farrier said. "Last year was a disappointment in a number of ways. I made some decisions (in the offseason) that I think will benefit this program.
"On Saturday I hope that our fans in this community will come out and support our football team," he added. "Kentucky State is really Frankfort's football team."