"(Cayden) looked good out here today," Dean said after Tuesday's practice. "He threw the ball well. He is will have a little bit of trouble moving side-to-side, but I think that is just a little bit of soreness. I think with about three more days before we play, he is going to be fine. He threw the ball very well today, he had good reads. So, I look for him to be able to play."
When asked if Cochran will be the starter if healthy enough to play Saturday, Dean said "he is going to start. No doubt about it."
With Cochran out last week. sophomore Graham Craig made his first-career start for the Blazers. Craig completed 10 of 22 passes for 314 yards and five touchdowns. He was intercepted twice, one that was returned for a touchdown.
Cochran separated his non-throwing shoulder in VSU's season opening loss to Saginaw Valley State when he diving into the end zone during the Blazers' first touchdown of the season. He attempted to play with the hurt shoulder the following series but fumbled the ball away. He was replaced by Craig on the following drive.
Bringing into question of what quarterback will start for the Blazers is nothing new. After last season's starter Austen Roberts injured his shoulder in a game against Ouachita Baptist and was replaced by Cochran, who later earned Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win, Dean told reporters that Roberts would remain the starter, even though it was later learned Roberts had suffered a season-ending injury.
In 2010, Dean did much of the same when he closed practice to hide Roberts leg injury, and hide the fact that then-freshman Brett Whitmire was going to start that week's game against Arkansas Tech.
Players weigh in on video board
Saturday's game will allow players the ultimate experience of playing under one of the largest video boards ever built. Following Tuesday's practice, some players weighed in with what they would do if they owned a video board of that size. The main response was watch football and play video games.“I’d do a little bit of both because you can probably split screen it,” senior offensive lineman Jake Thomas laughed. “You can probably watch football on one and play video games on the other side”
“I’d probably Madden,” wide receiver Seantavious Jones said.
To help prepare for the distractions that come with playing in Cowboys Stadium, the Blazers will visit Cowboys Stadium Friday once they arrive in the Dallas area. Although they are unable to hold a walk-through at the stadium, due to high school games scheduled throughout Friday, the Blazers will watch a portion of a game and walk throughout the stadium to help better learn their surroundings before warmups on Saturday.
Head coach David Dean also said Valdosta State will extend its warm up period by a few minutes so players can get used to playing inside a dome stadium.
“What I am more concerned with is when we are out here (on the practice field), we are looking up at the sky and when we play we see sky,” Dean said. “When we look up there, we are going to see stands and a roof. So that is going to be a little bit different, so we are going to take some extra time and go out catching kicks and to be sure we get the depth perception of all that. It is a little different.”
-Follow me on Twitter at @Ed_Hooper.
