Albany State Rams anxious to build on 2014

MACON — With a disappointing loss in the SIAC Championship game still fresh, Albany State assistant coach Steve Smith said this year is all about finishing.

Smith was present at the 2015 Peach State Pigskin Preview Tuesday at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. He said the Rams have a lot to build on this season.

Offensively, Caleb Edwards and Charles Stafford are still fighting for the starting job at quarterback. The two are equally talented in their own ways and Smith said it will come down to “who stays consistent in managing what we’re trying to get done offensively. The guy who stays consistent is the guy who will run the offense.”

Albany State held out a few players during its spring game due to injury, but Smith said everybody’s healthy and moving well. They have 60 players at summer workouts and he said they’re in a good place in terms of health.

The Rams are under the direction of head coach Dan Land this year and Smith said the adjustment period has been smooth thanks in large part to Land’s experience and familiarity with the program.

“He’s a great guy to work for,” Smith said. “He lets you do what you’ve got to get done and he’s all about winning football games.”

After a strong showing from the defense in the spring scrimmage, Land said he liked what he saw. He noted that they’re not trying to re-invent the wheel on that side of the ball, but rather making minor adjustments in terms of scheme. Smith said the hiring of Charles Huff as defensive coordinator will help implement that strategy.

The Rams start their season with two highly anticipated games against fierce competitors. Valdosta State is up first on Sept. 5 at the Albany State Coliseum followed by a game against Tuskegee University, the team that defeated the Rams in the SIAC title game, on Sept. 12.

Smith said though very early in the season, the two games will be tests as to how the team’s progressed over the offseason. The ultimate goal is to start garnering national attention.

“Every game for us is a pressure game because what we have to do at Albany State is, we have to make ourselves known,” he said. “We’ve been very dominate in the SIAC, but we want to be dominate on a national level. Our goal is to win the SIAC, but our ultimate goal is to win a national championship.”