‘Now is the time’

Lamonte Thompson (24) runs to get closer to the goal line.

The Lions football team will start the 2013 season against Miles College on Sept. 7 in Braly Stadium.

Bobby Wallace, head coach, was the focus of last year as he returned to the Lions’ sideline after leaving the Shoals in 1997 to take over at Temple.

Wallace won three straight national championships for UNA in 1993, 1994 and 1995. The theme of homecoming last year was “Bobby’s Back 4 the Future.

Despite all the attention on his return, Wallace said he wants all eyes on the players.

“The focus needs to be on the players,” he said. “The players win football games. I was thrilled to be back here at UNA. And the three years we won the national championship were just magical years.”

Wallace and the team are now focusing on the past, not the future, he said.

“Those were great times, but now is the time for us to win another championship,” he said. “It is the time for us to quit worrying about the past and worry about the future and worry about the kids in the program – that is what it is all about,” he said.

Wallace said he is excited about the future and his second year back in Florence.

“We are excited,” he said. “We feel like we had some good seniors who stuck through the transition. We felt like we had a really good spring training; we got a lot of experience from last year playing a lot of freshman.”

The Lions will come into this season with a lot of experience.

“We have 24 kids coming back from last year who started a game for us,” Wallace said.

The only concern that the coaches have with the depth chart is at the wide receiver position. Wallace said since the Lions have so many returning players, wide receiver may be the position that incoming freshmen have the best chance of playing in their first year.

“Right now, the position we would need to have someone step up and contribute early is at receiver,” he said.

Dre Hall, of Columbia, Tenn., and Tevin Cook, of Roanoke, are two receivers that have a chance to play early, Wallace said.

Last year, Chris Alexander started the season as the starting quarterback. As the season progressed, Luke Wingo got more playing time and eventually took over as the starting quarterback. Wallace said Wingo is currently first at the quarterback position.

“Luke is the starting quarterback,” Wallace said. “And to be honest, Jacob Tucker would probably be the second quarterback.”

Wallace said Wingo and Tucker have the same skillsets.

“Luke Wingo and Jacob Tucker are great leaders,” he said. “They are 4.0 students and we have them both for three more years.”

Wallace said that during last year’s two-a-days workouts, the UNA coaching staff had a tough time deciding whether to redshirt Wingo or Tucker, but a back injury made the decision for them: a bulging disk in Tucker’s back rendered him ineligible for the position.

The Lions have been through several rough seasons recently, but Wallace said that the Lions look like a championship contender this year.

The Lions will need the support of the students to be successful, Wallace said.

“Our program needs the support of the students,” he said. “We have to do a good job of putting a class act on the football field. I would ask (the students) to give it a chance and come out to a game.”

The Lions play ten games over eleven weeks with their bye week coming the week of Sep. 28.

UNA will renew their rivalry against Jacksonville State on Sep. 14, when the Lions will travel to Jacksonville to take on the Gamecocks.