MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — The Georgia Military College Bulldogs put the pads on one last time Saturday to close out spring practice.

The football program’s annual spring game was played on Davenport Field in front of a crowd of a couple hundred people that came out to enjoy some warm weather football and get a glimpse of some of the 2018 Bulldogs before they take the field for real in August.

First on the field Saturday was the Bulldog alumni touch football game, officiated by GMC head coach/athletic director Bert Williams. Present but not playing in the alumni game was current New England Patriot offensive lineman Trent Brown, who really stood out in the crowd at 6-feet-5 carrying 355 pounds. Brown played at GMC for two years beginning in 2011 before transferring to the University of Florida where he finished his college career. The San Francisco 49ers drafted him in 2015 and traded him to the Patriots just a couple weeks ago after taking an offensive tackle in the first round of this year’s draft.

After the alumni game most of the current iteration of the GMC Bulldogs took to Davenport Field to show what they learned over the spring practice period. Cleats cut and pads popped from the outset as guys made their cases to earn playing time once fall arrives. The scrimmage pitted the offense versus the defense, and coordinator Rob Manchester’s defense was the first to make a mark on the game with a more than 30-yard pick-six in the early going. The turnover-turned-points was an omen for the offense as the unit had trouble sustaining drives throughout the day. Devontae Davis, D.J. Daniel and Nate Braynen were among those on the defensive side of the ball who had their names called on multiple occasions Saturday for making plays. 

Most of the offense’s success unsurprisingly came in the ground game where the Bulldogs return three major contributors at running back in Kendall Cross, Reggie Davenport and Ty Elam. The air attack flourished on one occasion where quarterback Jaylen Nelson found receiver Kanore McKinnon for a long score in the first half. 

“We’ve got a lot of things to look at on the film,” Williams told his players after the game. “Some of you guys stepped up and did some good things today. Again execution — we talked all spring about executing a lot better before we get to the season because those first six games are going to be tough as hell, men. We’ve got to be ready every week for every game. For all 11 of them we’ve got to be ready. It’s going to be a challenge. … Be ready to work once camp starts because the grind is coming.”

The Bulldogs begin their season the same way they did in 2017, on a Thursday night against Navarro College. This year’s matchup will be Aug. 23 at 7 p.m. eastern in Corsicana, Texas. Navarro defeated GMC 23-7 in last year’s season opener. GMC’s first home matchup will come in week two against Arizona Western College, a perennially tough program that finished last season ranked third in the NJCAA, under the lights on Davenport Field.