ARCATA —With their first game looming only 18 days away, Humboldt State's football players and coaching staff are approaching each practice diligently and patiently, one workout at a time. On Friday, they'll measure how far they've come since fall camp opened on Aug. 6 and also how much progress remains to be achieved.

First-year head coach Rob Smith and his squad will divide up at 2:15 p.m. Friday for their first scrimmage of the fall camp. After taking a break to host the Six Rivers Youth Football Jamboree on Saturday, the Lumberjacks will resume two-a-day practices, and the countdown to the 2008 season.

Thus far, the Jacks have displayed enough potential to have the coaching staff expressing cautious confidence. On offense and defense the Jacks have extremely skilled players, with the familiar problem of depth the only glaring weakness. Still, the best lineup combination needs to be discovered before the Jacks keep score.

"We're like any other football team at this point of fall camp," Smith said. "That makes it a perfect time for a scrimmage. It's time to place the players in a game-like situation and see how they respond."

One position that has developed as expected is quarterback, where, consistent with their performances in the spring, returning seniors Brian Hildebrand and Garrett Hubrich, along with redshirt freshman Mike Proulx, have all performed well.

In the backfield, returners Bobby Thomas and Joevany Cueva are two experienced running backs who fit well into the new offensive scheme that Smith has brought with him. Corey Stollmeyer, a junior who redshirted last fall, will also contend for playing time, and the coaching staff has also been impressed with College of the Canyons transfer Brian Stuart and freshman Daniel Wyatt, out of Vallejo's St. Vincent High School.

An area hurt by an injury that occurred last fall is wide receiver, where Edwin Henry will be missed as he continues to recover from knee surgery. Henry will sit out this fall, forcing the staff to look at less-experienced players and newcomers.

Returner Kevin Miles saw action in seven games last year, grabbing seven passes for 86 yards. He'll be joined by Mike Streck-Woodard,  a freshman who redshirted last fall before running track in the spring. Newcomer Tim Simmons, a transfer from four-year Jackson State, and returning tight end Matt Devlin, who saw action in eight games last fall, will help out. The versatile Derrick Garrett is a returning player who will also see time at tight end.

One of the greatest concerns the staff had entering the spring was along the offensive line, an area that performed sub-par during last year's 2-8 campaign and was further impacted by the graduation of three senior starters. Following a productive spring and solid start to the fall, it's now one of the most surprising areas of progress, Smith said.

Leadership on the line has come from returning senior guard Bryant Kendall. Making the move from defense to offensive tackle is 6-2, 265-pound Lorenzo Arenas, where he'll join returning starter and fellow senior Adam Fountain. At center, Taylor Boggs, a 6-3, 275-pound sophomore who redshirted last year, takes over, and Chris Vicory, who started two games last season, is back as a senior.

Two newcomers who have been stellar this fall are freshmen Bret Frydendahl (6-3, 270) from Corona High School, and Ryan Dragoo (6-1, 305) from Servite High in Whittier. And with Boggs slowed by a hamstring problem early in camp, walk-on freshman Max Apodaca has stepped up and has "been doing a lot more that he probably thought we'd be asking from him this soon," according to Smith.

Defensively, the Lumberjacks have some firm answers and also a few big questions. One area of uncertainty has been addressed with the return of senior linebacker Allen Brunner, who was unavailable during spring ball because of an injury.

“Adding Brunner back is a big help,” said Smith, about the Jacks' leading tackler with 88 total in 2007. “His presence and experience is a big boost to our defense."

Also in the mix are returning seniors Calvin Robinson, who has filled in at middle in Brunner's absence, and outside backer Justin Calcote who had 31 tackles in 2007. Also impacting the lineup will be Michael Lynch, who transferred in as a sophomore from UNLV.

On the defensive line, returning seniors Brad Hunkins, Desmond Maxwell, Johnny Terrell and Justin Rose form a veteran “lunch pail” group, as described by Smith. Justin Hornsby, who played linebacker last year, has moved to defensive end, and Brian Wilson, a 6-2, 290-pound junior transfer from College of the Canyons, has looked good in fall camp.

In the secondary, Barry Davis is the only Jack player with DII experience at corner,  and Wes Montgomery has moved over from safety to cornerback to further shore up the position.  Jeff Williams is back at safety, and Blyth Colbert  will join him from the redshirt ranks.

The coaching staff is also extremely high on newcomer Guy Ricciardulli, who has come in as a sophomore after playing a safety at San Diego Mesa JC. An impressive addition who transferred in last spring is Dan Compton, a 6-2 senior out of Santa Ana JC, who is also expected to contribute significantly at safety.

For the Jacks' kicking game, punter Kyle Schierholt returns for his junior year and placekicker Enrique Leyva comes in as a junior after sitting out 2007. Charlie Kaufman, a freshman from Calabasas High School in West Hills, is another strong candidate.

Despite his staff's short time with the program, Smith believes HSU will be highly competitive in the re-formed Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

“The players have been receptive to the system we've brought in and the structure,” Smith said. “They've been responsive to our demands.

“We'll continue to focus on ourselves, and approach each day with a plan to get better as a team. We expect to put a team on the field that will be competitive, and will play every down hard and together.”

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