University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
High Heat Index Means Smiling Coaches
8/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
High Heat Index Means Smiling Coaches
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Only mad dogs, Englishmen and southern head football coaches get wide smiles on their faces when they talk about triple-digit heat index readings. The University of Southern Mississippi Head Coach Jeff Bower has had an especially large grin for the past two days.
"We've had two hard days this week," Bower said. "We wanted to go hard this week. We've had the best heat we've had all fall this week. The heat index was about 115 today and 114 Monday, and we used that heat to put our guys in some situations, after our conditioning period, to get them used to playing when they're tired, so they'll be better able to retain fundamentals when faced with the same situations in games.
"I think we're on schedule to be ready for our opener. We need two more good days this week, though. We have to take advantage of the heat while we have it, and I think our players have done that really well this week. We also have to let our players get their legs back under them, and we'll do that by giving them Friday and Saturday off, let them get away, give the coaches a break, and then come back for a Sunday afternoon practice. Yes, I'm happy with where we are."
Bower says that after the way the team finished the 2000 regular season, his players have something to prove and have worked hard to get ready. "I think it took a lot of character to come back and finish the way we did in the bowl game," he said. "I think we all feel like we have something to prove though, and we have to work even harder because we're still a pretty young team, especially on the defensive side. In fact, we have just five senior starters on this team. That's going to be a challenge, but it just makes it more fun.
Joe Henley (knee), Terrell Paul (shoulder) and Travares Comegys (knee), who have missed practice with injuries, are back to full strength. Rod Davis is still day-to-day with his ankle, and Bobby Garner missed today's practice with a skin disorder but will return tomorrow.
The Eagles are scheduled to scrimmage Wednesday, hold a regular workout Thursday, and then start game-week preparations with a Sunday evening workout. The Eagles open the season against Oklahoma State in a Sept. 1, 11 a.m., ESPN-televised game in Roberts Stadium.
