University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Continue To Polish
8/28/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Eagles Continue To Polish
Hattiesburg, Miss. - The University of Southern Mississippi football squad continued to polish its game plan for Saturday's season-opening game against Oklahoma State. That game is scheduled for 11 a.m., and will be televised by ESPN.
Head Coach Jeff Bower says there's still work to be done, but also time in which to do it. "We're getting there," he said. "We still had some mental errors and missed assignments out there today, but we've got Wednesday and Thursday to polish that up, and we're not supposed to be ready until Saturday. We do need to come out the next couple of days and have really good practices and then a good meeting day Friday.
"We've still got some work to do in the kicking game to get it where we want it to be, but we're on track to get everything done. We just need to come out and have two good days of concentration, good effort on the field, and we'll be ready to go."
Bower also says the injuries are sometimes hard to work around, but also not an overriding consideration. "You can't let those things bother you. You just have to have kids step up and play when it's their time. We've got some injuries, we don't know about a couple of those guys and may not know until Saturday, but the other guys just have to get ready to play."
Bower said Kenny Johnson and Jason Jimenez both are question marks for the opener, and that their status for the Cowboy game will depend on how much progress they make in the next two days. "We'll just try to get Jason back, get him some practice time the remainder of the week and get him ready to go," Bower said. "Right now Myron Powe is filling that spot.
Bower also said Johnson practiced today, but just not well enough to play. "Right now, in my opinion, I don't think he can play, the way he's moving right now. The next couple of days will determine his status as well."
The Oklahoma State game that will start at 11 a.m., and will be televised by ESPN. Tickets are still available by going by the ticket office in the Ferlise Center on the Southern Miss campus, or by calling 601-266-5418.
