Veltung suprises in Vandals' first scrimmage

MOSCOW - That Justin Veltung has an explosiveness about him is no secret. But that he was able to pop a 70-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the first scrimmage of fall camp might have taken a few by surprise Wednesday.

"That was awesome," said coach Robb Akey, who kept coming back to Veltung and his abilities in his post-scrimmage comments.

In almost the same breath, Akey also cited the accuracy and productivity of senior quarterback Brian Reader, who completed 9 of 15 passes for 222 yards and four TDs. Of those, three went to Veltung, who tallied 115 yards and two TDs during the 90-minute session.

"I like the big plays I saw from our offense today," Akey said. "Obviously, we protected the quarterback better today. We ran the ball better today. We're showing some growth in our offensive line.

"And Veltung - there's a guy who stood out."

As in any scrimmage, however, Akey found himself left with mixed feelings - like when the defense mounted a goal-line stand, which could only mean the offense had stalled.

"It was a first scrimmage," he said. "There's good and bad. What I did like - I saw some big plays on both sides. There's always more the head coach wants to see, more the offensive coordinator, the defensive coordinator would like to see. What I'm happy about is both sides produced today."

In addition to Veltung's 70-yard scoring catch, he also pulled in a 3-yard scoring pass while Armauni Johnson (8 yards) and Mike Scott (33 yards) accounted for the other two TDs. To the defense's credit, kicker Trey Farquhar was called on four times for field goals with successes at 20, 22 and 50 with a near-miss from 56.

SCORING PLAYS

Justin Veltung 70 pass from Brian Reader (Trey Farquhar kick)

FG Farquhar 20

FG Farquhar 22

Veltung 3 pass from Reader (Farquhar kick)

FG Farquhar 50

Armauni Johnson 8 pass from Reader (Farquhar kick)

Mike Scott 33 pass from Reader (Farquhar kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Vital 7-27, Handley 4-5, Bailey 7-8, McCarty 5-10, Veltung 1-4, Bass 1-4, Parkins 1-0.

PASSING - Reader 9-15-1-222, Davis 6-13-78, Bushnell 2-3-15, Podrabsky 1-4-9.

RECEIVING - Veltung, 3-115, Weiting, 2-15, Micheletti, 2-19, Washington, 1-8, Davis, 1-23, Bailey, 1-34, Trotter, 2-27, Johnson, 3-39, Klingenberg, 1-7, Handley, 1-9, Elmo, 1-12, Scott, 1-33.