Oct. 26, 2007
By Mandrallius Robinson, The Greenville News
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Furman University's Patrick Sprague is a wide receiver not a point guard, but he is always up for a little one-on-one.
Sprague drools over man-to-man coverage, and has burned Furman's last two opponents who have dared defend him with a single defender.
Against The Citadel on Oct. 13, Sprague continuously slipped behind cornerbacks, finishing the game with a school-record 238 yards and three touchdowns. In last week's 28-22 win over Chattanooga, he caught five passes for 75 yards and a touchdown.
He leads the Paladins with 37 receptions, 580 yards and five touchdowns.
"I love a challenge," said Sprague. "Anytime I get in a man-on-man situation, I get a little twinkle in my eye. I want to make a play."
Sprague's eye will be twinkling like the North Star this Saturday, when Furman (3-4, 1-2) hosts Southern Conference rival Appalachian State (5-2, 1-2).
The Mountaineers will come to Paladin Stadium with an aggressive secondary, staffed by four seniors. App State has allowed only 171 passing yards per game this season.
"They generally play a man-technique," Sprague said. "They have probably some of the best defensive backs in the conference as well. It's really a challenge this week for the receivers. I'm pretty excited. I've played against these guys for the past three years. It should be exciting."
"They are going to play man. That's just what they do," said Furman coach Bobby Lamb "I'm sure they are going to try to play Patrick Sprague man-to-man. They are going to go man-to-man on our tight end. We think those are good match-ups.
"Somebody is going to go man-to-man on our other receivers, so somebody has got to win. Some of our other receivers are going to have to step up."
Sprague has filled the void left by sophomore receiver R.J. Webb, who suffered a season-ending injury against Coastal Carolina on Oct. 6, but no one has filled the subsequent void.
Webb is still second among Furman receivers with 23 receptions and 317 yards. The next three wideouts behind Sprague and Webb have only 21 receptions combined.
Among that tandem are sophomore flanker Keiron Williams and redshirt freshman Adam Mims who have combined for only 20.7 yards per game this season.
Offensive coordinator Tim Sorrells said the young receivers must man-up before facing App State's man coverage.
"We keep waiting for them to take the diapers off," said Sorrells. "They have to grow up and make the plays that they are capable of making, because physically they are capable as anybody we've ever had. Capability has to turn into performance on Saturdays, and that's what we keep waiting for them to do.
"I think it's a maturation process that all guys go through, and in their defense, this is the first year they've played a lot. Everybody has the light come on at different intervals, and it's come on a couple of times for them. It just needs to come on and stay on."
Williams, a product of Eastside High, expects this to be the week he hits the switch.
"We just have to step up and make plays," Williams said. "I lick my chops when I see man coverage. I actually like it the best, because it's just you and the defender. You don't have to worry about somebody coming out of the woodworks with a zone. I think it's the easiest to get open against. We can have a really big week this week."
