Aug. 15, 2008

PHOTO GALLERY

The University of Dayton football team had a special visitor when they held an intrasquad scrimmage on Thursday morning. Ohio Speaker of the House Jon Husted, who started at cornerback for UD's 1989 NCAA Division III national championship, stopped by Welcome Stadium to get his first look at the 2008 Flyers.

He also was able to get his first look at the new 24/7 Field Turf that has been installed this season at the home of the Flyers. The turf was made possible by an improvement grant authorized by the state legislature in 2006.

Dayton coach Rick Chamberlin was pleased with the day's scrimmage. "I told the team `Not bad' after today's practice," Chamberlin said. "There were a lot of good things, but of course at this point of the year, there is plenty that we have to improve on. What I am most pleased with is our focus. It would have been easy for our team to look ahead to the scrimmage at the end of practice today, but we had a great practice leading into it. Our players are taking advantage of every opportunity to make our team better."

Husted reinforced that attitude when he addressed the team after practice.

"Never let one play go by without giving your best effort," Husted said to the team. "Never waste an opportunity to do your best. Playing football at the University of Dayton was the best experience of my life. UD is a special place, and you are part of a special group of people. You only have a limited amount of time to be a college football player, and when you look back on these days, you want to know you gave it your all."

UD opens the season on Sunday, August 31 against Central State. Game time on the new turf at Welcome Stadium is 5:00 p.m. ET.