Photos Courtesy of Chris Permar

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware football team braved the hot sun Friday morning as head coach K.C. Keeler led the Blue Hens through their second and final scrimmage of the pre-season at Delaware Stadium.

The Hens, who had also scrimmaged on Sunday, got underway at 10:30 a.m. and went at it for almost two hours, taking part in approximately 100 plays from scrimmage while also working on the punt game and field goals. About 200 fans also braved the heat to watch the team.

“We are still a work in progress and have a long way to go,” said Keeler following the session. “There are a lot of things we need to do to get better. At times today we looked pretty good, but when we had to run the ball we struggled a bit. The good thing is that every day we are going up against one of the best run defenses we are going to see all year. We aren’t going to be a three-yards and a cloud of dust team. That’s just not who we are. Defensively today we struggled early but they came on late. I see some good things going on but we still have things we need to work on to become a good team in this league.”

Junior quarterback Pat Devlin, a first-year transfer from Penn State who will start the opener Sept. 4 at home vs. West Chester, looked sharp once again as he completed several long gains to senior tight end Josh Baker and a 10-yard scoring pass across the middle to Tommy Crosby. Freshmen running backs Leon Jackson (at right) and Walter Davis also picked up some big gains on the day as did junior running back Phillip Thaxton

“I thought the offense clicked pretty well today,” said Devlin, who shared time behind center with Sean Hakes and freshmen Trevor Sasek and Tim Donnelly. “We really came back well after the break. Guys are stepping up and ready to go and we all seem to be where we need to be which is a credit to the coaching staff.”

The team will be off on Saturday but will return to practice Sunday with two sessions at 7:15 a.m. and 4:15 p.m.

Notes....Great season and single game ticket packages are available by calling the UD Season Ticket Office at 302-831-2257 or going on-line to www.bluehens.com...among those who did not compete Friday due to injures were running backs Jerry Butler (hamstring) and David Hayes (ankle), wide receiver Mark Mackey (thumb), offensive lineman Gino Gradkowski (hand), linebacker Matt Marcorelle (ankle), and wide receiver Mark Schenauer (neck).