SAVANNAH, Ga. -- "How bout those Tigers?" Which ones? Those orange and reflex blues ones of Savannah State University concluded spring practice with their annual spring preview of what is to be expected next fall. The winning offense outscored the defense, 45-33.

With the team splitting itself into an offensive and defensive team, the Savannah State University football players went at each other to show off what they've learned from head coach Earnest Wilson, III and his coaching staffing.

What the fans came away with is a distinguished reality that a new Wilson is in town -- not the head coach, but junior college transfer Ker-Sean Wilson. The junior quarterback completed 10 of 25 passes for 115 yards and got the fans in attendance out of their seats on several occasions with his passing and running. He also led the team in rushing with 11 carries for 62 yards.

Wilson said after the game that he still has a long way to go become better at his craft, but overall he was happy with his performance. Wilson came to the Tigers from Eastern Arizona Community College via high school in Columbia, S.C.

The SSU defense got on the board first as defensive back Brandon Jackson-Bell picked off a Leon Prunty pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. It was the only score in the opening quarter of the four quarter game.

The Orange Team (Offense) put up 14 points in the second quarter. Scoring on runs of three and four yards was sophomore running back Alex Simmons.

For the game, the Tigers completed 20 of 56 passes between four quarterbacks with three interceptions on the day. The running back group rushed 54 times for a total of 148 yards.

Leon Prunty was the first quarterback to see action for SSU. He was followed by Victorian Hardison. The ground game set the tone for the offense by gaining a couple of first downs.

In the third quarter, Wilson accounted for much of the rushing yards as he outran the defense for a 25-yard touchdown run that fueled the fervor of those in attendance.

Another bright spot was the kicking of Preston McCarthy and John Barron. Barron was 2-of-4 including a 47 yarder and 52 yarder, while McCarthy nailed his lone field goal attempt from 34 yards.

SSU's defensive effort was quite noticable as the Blue Team (Defense) landed hard hits and blanketed the field with great coverage from the linebackers and  defensive backs. Like much of last season, the Tiger D was led by its linebacking duo in Marquis Smith and Justin Dixon. Smith finished with a game-high 10 tackles, while Dixon led the defense with two sacks and five tackles.

All in all, the Tigers gave a good accounting of themselves. If hope springs eternal, then the coming 2014 football season that kicks off at Middle Tennessee State University on August 30 should be the beginning of something special for SSU.