VALDOSTA-It is a week away. The start to the 2010 Valdosta State football season that is.
And this past Saturday morning at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium, the Valdosta State football players took time away from watching film and game preparation to give back to the Valdosta community with their annual Meet the Blazers day.

This day is especially enjoyable for kids. The players had the kids execute drills. Some groups, such as the defensive back group, had the kids celebrate after picking up the ball and running it in for a touchdown. Other drills include lowering shoulders on defensive players, catching and passing drills.
“It’s a lot of fun for our players. It’s a chance for us to give back to the community, to say thank you for the support that you give us,” VSU head coach David Dean said. “For our players to have a chance to interact with these kids, it really gives them a sense of why I’m a student athlete.”
Although on Saturday morning the focus was on Meet the Blazers, many could not help but look ahead to next Saturday, Sept. 4, when the Blazers host Wingate.
For many the eyes will be on the defense, after last season allowing 62 points to rival North Alabama.
“I think our problem right now is we have a lot of young guys mixing or meshing with a lot of older guys,” Defensive tackle DeMario Jones—who has playing in 29 VSU games throughout his career said. “So it’s kind of difficult to get everyone on the same page, but we are on the same page.”
Jones also answered questions about his knee in which he tore his ACL in last season during the Blazers fourth game of the season at Ouachita Baptist.
“I haven’t had any problems with it,” Jones noted. “I am ready to play.”
Jones will be a staple on the defensive side of the ball for the Blazers in 2010 along with linebacker and good friend Larry Dean.
“We have a lot of guys swarming to the ball, flying to the ball, getting where they need to be,” Dean said about the defense this pre-season.
If there was one position lacking experience, it would be the quarterback position. Earlier this summer, we were looking at a battle between Jimmy Coy and Russ Callaway, but after Callaway went down with a knee injury Coy immediately became the man under center.
The redshirt junior Coy will be in his first year as a starter for VSU after being redshirted in 2009.
“I plan to just take it one game at a time and focus on each play,” Coy said. “I think we’ll be fine, just keep working hard and try to lead. We need to win.
“We need to take it one week at a time, like I said before, because if we start worrying about teams down the road, that’s when you slip up and lose a game. But we need to make a run this year,” Coy continued. “That’s what Valdosta State football has been in the past. We need to just win.”
Not only does Coy have the right attitude to lead the team but he has confidence from his head coach and teammates.
“He had one shaky day last week, but came back and probably had his best day right after that shaky day,” David Dean said. “So I’ve been very pleased with him. He seems to pick up things extremely well. He’s throwing the ball well; he’s making quicker and better reads for us now – just being in the system a little bit longer. I feel like he’s ready to step up and play.”
Senior offensive lineman, Kyle Fox, who has made a whopping 36 starts for the Blazers over his career, seems to think Coy will provide a look from quarterback that has not been present over the last few years.
“He looks really good,” Fox said. “He does a lot of things that we haven’t had here in a while. He has a very good arm and he’s a great leader. He does really good all-around.”
When asked about his expectations for the upcoming season, Fox replied with a simple answer “National championship.”