When a new football season begins, All-American tight end De'queze Fryer will likely be catching a lot of balls thrown by quarterback Shedrick Lindsey.
The two are friends and teammates, and they're hoping to make the 2022 season one to remember.
While Fryer and Lindsey are looking forward to playing together over the next few months, for one day, they'll be trying to beat each other on the football field.
The Pres vs. AD football game is set for Saturday at 4 p.m. at Callaway Stadium, and Lindsey and Fryer will be on opposite sidelines after they were the top two players taken in Monday's draft.
The game is part of Panther Pride Day, which begins at noon and will feature food trucks, entertainment, activities for children, athletic events and more, and it will begin at noon in the Callaway Auditorium parking lot and surrounding areas.
Panther Pride Day ends with the football game, and the more than 100 players on the Panthers' roster will be divided into two teams.
Team Pres will be coached by President Susanna Baxter, while Director of Athletics Terlynn Olds will coach Team AD.
Ten of the Panther players participated in Monday's draft, with Team Pres and Team AD each selecting five of them.
The assistant coaches were also drafted, as were two guest coaches, Theatre Arts Technical Director Luke Hopper, and English professor Anthony Wilson.
Fryer was the first player taken by Team AD, which won last year's game, while Team Pres drafted Lindsey.
Both men participated in last year's game, and they're looking forward to being part of it again.
"It's only the second year, so it's something new," said Lindsey, who is coming off a fantastic junior season. "It's all about having fun. It's a way to get the fans involved."
Fryer, who had 66 catches for 944 yards with 11 touchdowns in 10 games in 2021, enjoyed participating in last year's game, and he appreciated the support it received from the community.
"It was fun," Fryer said. "It was like a real game-day experience. I really enjoyed it, the atmosphere, and having fans. It wasn't just a scrimmage. It was part of Panther Pride Day, so it was celebrating what it means to be a Panther. Seeing the community come out, that's what made it even more fun. It was fun even before we went inside the stadium, and them coming in and watching the game, that made it awesome."
On Monday afternoon in the Corn Auditorium in the Frank and Laura Lewis Library, the 10 Panther players along with the coaches gathered for the draft.
Each of the players stood and told those doing the selecting why they were worthy of being taken high in the draft.
Fryer's sales pitch was a convincing one, and he was the first player taken, and Lindsey soon followed.
Next off the board was wide receiver Ajani Williams, and offensive lineman Quenton Green was taken with the fourth pick.
Roderick Kirkland (defensive back), Klynell Johnson (defensive back), Hassan Tutson (linebacker), Aaron Belt (linebacker), Alex Rivera (kicker) and Christian Waymon (running back) were the next six players drafted.
Also drafted were assistant coaches Kendall Todd, Jarred Rutherford, Brett Banfield, and Randy Starks.
"You've got 10 of the finest young men on this campus," said LaGrange College Head Coach Earl Chambers. "I really appreciate them being here. We're going to do what we do. We're going to play hard, and we're going to do it in a way where we're not going to give away too many secrets going into game one, game two. Let's have fun, and hopefully a lot of people will show up and represent the town of LaGrange."
The Panthers will open their season on Sept. 3 with a home game against Middle Georgia.
TEAM PRES VS. TEAM AD GAME
WHAT: Intrasquad game featuring members of the LaGrange College football team
WHEN: Saturday, 4 p.m.
WHERE: Callaway Stadium
HEAD COACHES: Dr. Susanna Baxter (President), Terlynn Olds (Director of Athletics)
Sports Information Director Kevin Eckleberry can be reached at mecklebe@lagrange.edu.
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