Not long ago, a few bleachers and a handful of die hard fans would gather to watch a Spring Game. on Saturday, Howard Schnellenberger took notice of the larger than usual crowd and mentioned that this was the "largest crowd to ever assemble for a Spring Game," after taking a few moments at halftime to acknowledge the 2,011 Owls fans on Saturday at the Oxley Center. After having been embarrassed in the previous scrimmage games during the spring sessions, the defense started out strong, but eventually fell short. Erick McIntosh intercepted a Rusty Smith pass on the third play of the game, followed by a  fumble recovery by the defense on the next play. The offense did find life after a series of miscues on their first two possessions, assembling a nine-play, 60-yard drive, sealed with a three-yard touchdown run by Alfred Morris. Morris finish the day with 131 yards on 18 carries, leaving a good impression on Owls fans in attendance.  Jason Harmon made a huge grab to convert an early third down to keep the drive alive, the type of clutch plays Owls fans came to expect of Harmon after the 2007 season. The defense did mange to put some pressure on the quarterbacks, recording a couple of sacks during the course of the game. The defense also forced one more interception, this time by Marcus Bartels, who continues to show the same type of playing qualities of his older brother Chris Bartels. The strong play of the defense continued for most of the day, even though they got edge-out by the offense on the scoreboard 35-25. Schnellenberger was pleased by the overall performance of the scrimmage. With Smith under center, this offense is clearly set to have another solid year on offense. The defense is young and inexperienced, but the talent level is at the highest level I have seen yet, and should develop to become one of the best defensive groups for the Owls. And it might be sooner rather then later. Final Stats for Saturdays Spring Game: Passing Rusty Smith: 8-10-1, 114 yards, 2 TD David Kooi: 1-5-0, 6 yards Graham Wilbert: 3-5-0, 7 yards Jeff VanCamp: 8-18-1, 87 yards, 1 TD Total: 21-40-2, 214 yards, 3 TD Receiving William Rose: 2-17 yards Chris Bonner: 3-24 yards, 1 TD (10 yard TD) Jason Harmon:  2-13 yards Jamari Grant: 1-39 yards 1 TD Cortez Gent: 3-30 yards Rob Housler: 2-24 yards 1 TD (18 yard TD) Lester Jean: 2-6 yards David Muniz: 1-8 yards Alfred Morris 1-6 yards Avoinne Rolle: 1-7 yards Amos Wood, Jr: 1-27 Avery Holley: 2-13 Total: 21-214 yards 3 TD Rushing Alfred Morris: 18-131 yards, 1 TD (3 yards) William Rose: 2-3 yards Xavier Stinson: 2-14 yards David Muniz: 4-28 yards Avionne Rolle: 10-50 yards, 1 TD (11 yards) Michael Barasch: 4-11 yards David Kooi: 2-4 yard Jeff VanCamp: 6- -31 yards Rusty Smith 1- -5 Graham Wilbert: 2- 11 Total: 40-241 by running backs, 11- -43 --- Total with QBs: 51-198