BEAUMONT, Texas – Lamar University wrapped up its second week of preseason camp with a scrimmage Saturday morning at Provost Umphrey Stadium. The scrimmage, which was closed to the public, saw the Red and White run approximately 85 plays which pitted the No. 1 offense against No. 1 defense followed by the second teamers.
 
Saturday's scrimmage belonged to the defense, a unit that enters 2019 with only four returning starters from last season. Big Red's defense ended the day with five takeaways, including four interceptions.
 
"We were able to force some turnovers today, but from the offensive perspective that is something that we have to get corrected," said LU head coach Mike Schultz, who is heading into his third season at the helm. "We had some throws that I'm not sure about at this point and really need to go back and watch the film to see where the mistakes were made. Our defense did a nice job creating some turnovers. The bottom line, offensively, we can't turn the ball over."
 
The Cardinals' secondary was hit extremely hard due to attrition following the 2018 season losing every single starter, but Saturday's scrimmage points to the fact there are players ready to step up and claim those starting roles. Big Red picked off four passes and forced a fumble during the scrimmage and tacked on three more takeaways during 7-on-7 drills.
 
Senior Tariq Gordon provided two of the biggest highlights of the scrimmage finishing the day with two interceptions, both coming off the hand of senior quarterback Jordan Hoy. Junior college transfer Dallas Martin (City College of San Francisco) and junior Darius Guillory had the other two interceptions, with Guillory's pick setting tone for the scrimmage. Martin also forced a fumble on the day.
 
The defense's performance Saturday could be viewed more routine than simply a positive sign of things to come. Since Schultz's arrival the Cardinals have been ranked among the nation's leaders at gaining extra possessions for the offense. Last season alone Big Red ranked among the nation's top 10 in interceptions and top 30 in fumbles recovered.
 
The offense had its moments in the spotlight with a few big-yardage plays. Both freshman Erik Pizarro and junior Mason Sikes hauled in passes of more than 40 yards, while redshirt freshman Marcellus Johnson (a converted quarterback) a hauled in a pass of 53 yards that appeared to go for a score before he was ruled out at the 12-yard line.
 
"Again, our defense did a nice job today, but we have to be better against the deep ball," said Schultz. "We also had too many penalties across the board. I just finished talking with the officials and they gave me a descript detail of the penalties, so we have to get that corrected. This was a typical early scrimmage and I would say we had all of the typical early problems."  
 
The team will spend the rest of the day in meetings and will take Sunday off after two-straight weeks of workouts. The Red and White return to the practice field Monday morning.