Hounds start practice Tuesday

Staff report

PORTALES — Eastern New Mexico University football coach Josh Lynn expects to have the largest turnout for the start of practice in at least a couple of years when the Greyhounds begin drills this week.

Around 140 to 150 players are expected to check in on Monday morning, and the team will begin workouts the following day in preparation for a rare Thursday night opener on Sept. 3 against New Mexico Highlands at Greyhound Stadium.

Lynn, a former ENMU player and assistant coach now beginning his fourth season at the helm, said essentially everybody made it through in terms of the classroom in the spring and he expects all hands to be on deck.

“It’s one of the few years I’m able to say that,” Lynn said. “It’s been a good offseason for us.”

Lynn said the Hounds will be in shorts for the first three days and will split the team into two sessions, from 8-10 a.m. and 3-5 p.m. The team plans to have two-hour intrasquad scrimmages at Blackwater Draw starting at 10 a.m. on each of the next two Saturdays.

The opener is one of only three regular-season games at Greyhound Stadium — entering what should be its final year of operation, as an on-campus stadium is planned for the 2016 campaign.

The team has four scheduled home games, but one of them is its Sept. 19 contest against Midwestern State at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas — part of the Lone Star Football Festival.

Lynn has led the team to back-to-back seven-win seasons, including a Lone Star Conference regular-season co-championship in 2013, and has compiled a record of 17-14 in his three seasons

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