CHARLESTON, S.C –The Citadel Bulldogs will put the unofficial wrap on their spring practice on Saturday when they play the 2018 Blue & White Game sponsored by TD Bank. Kickoff is at 3 p.m. at Johnson Hagood Stadium.

The Bulldogs will split teams into offense and defense to have the opportunity to shuffle personal between units. It will be the final full-speed look for Head Coach Brent Thompson's team before camp begins in late July. Coming off a season that featured a 3-0 start, hampered by costly red zone mistakes in a SoCon play led to a 5-6 season that could have been.

After back-to-back SoCon titles and FCS Playoff appearances in '15 and '16,  Thompson remembers the losses from 2017 and the toughness and passion his team didn't show when the season was on the line. Showing some of that fire on Saturday is the first step toward setting the tone for camp and the 2018 season.

"We have really focusing on emotion on both sides of the ball this spring," Thompson said Thursday. "We want to get that back …Citadel Football. I thought we lacked emotion when we lost in the Western (Carolina) game and down the stretch of the season. Spring is the time to get back to that and start setting the tone now."

Evaluation is the other piece of the puzzle for Thompson on Saturday. The defense must replace a number of starters to each spot, including a pair of All-SoCon selections from last season in linebacker Myles Pierce and safety Kailik Williams. Thompson has seen a number of young talents improves as they've began taking the majority of the reps.

"We've seen guys continue to improve at a handful of positions," Thompson said. "Two on the defensive line, Aaron Brawley has gotten tremendously better, and (Joseph) Randolph has taken more snaps and continues to earn more the more he plays. Linebackers is simple, Willie Eubanks has taken a ton of reps and continues to develop. We're looking at a little of everything in the (secondary). Wally Wilmore, Phil Barret, and Jalen Barr have had a nice spring back there. Lane Botkin redshirted and quietly has done a good job."

Thompson is upbeat about the potential of the offensive line, which returns all five starters. While he admitted last week's scrimmage grade was just "so-so," he was quick to rave about the continuing development of one of his young offensive tackles

"Prince Howard-Whitaker, the guy that has had the best spring, hands town," Thompson added. "He's improved almost every practice and is starting to look like a different player. The two guards have gotten a lot of looks and refined their technique, which is what we have asked for from them."

An early spring practice has meant lingering and nagging injuries have shortened the available bodies for Saturday. Linebacker Noah Dawkins, back Grant Drakeford and Rod Johnson, and defensive linemen Ja'Lon Williams and A.J. Stokes are key pieces that will be limited or sit out the spring game.
With a number of injuries already impacting spring practice, Thompson is happy to have the early practice schedule and almost five months to get healed for fall camp.

"Come out (of the game) healthy is our number one for this weekend," Thompson added. "See a good spirited scrimmage more than anything. We haven't put in a whole lot of new scheme. We were good at what we are doing, not a whole lot of blitzing (on defense). We want to see fundamental football."

The Bulldogs have two remaining allotted practices following Saturday's scrimmage. They will practice on Tuesday and Thursday ahead of The Citadel's spring break. 

Highlights and photos of the Blue & White Game will be available at citadelsports.com following Saturday's game.

-CitadelSports-