University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Moderate Weather: Good and Bad
8/9/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Moderate Weather: Good and Bad
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Moderate weather continues to present a double-edged sword for Head Coach Jeff Bower and his Golden Eagle coaching staff as preseason football workouts continue at The University of Southern Mississippi.
The full squad opened two-a-day workouts with sessions at 7:35 a.m., and 3:55 p.m., today. The players will complete the NCAA-mandated first three days in non-contact drills Friday and Saturday, before getting into full gear for the first time on Aug. 13. Classes start Aug. 20, and the first game of the regular season is set for Sept. 1, when Oklahoma State visits Roberts Stadium for an 11 a.m., game.
"We've had relatively cool weather thus far," Bower said. "That's good in that it allows the players to stay on the field longer and concentrate better, lets the coaches get all your schemes in on both sides of the ball and teach them; but it's not good from a conditioning aspect. I know, though, that we'll get the heat before we finish fall workouts, so I'm not worried about that."
Today was the first day of practice for the full Golden Eagle squad, and Bower was impressed with what he saw. "We practiced well today," he said. "We had two really good periods early in practice, and I was impressed with the guys and their level of concentration. That was good to see. Our enthusiasm level has been high, and I like that. We also continue to see some good leadership from both our senior class and some underclassmen as well. That's always pleasing."
Senior defensive back Otto Crawford (Moss Point, Miss.) broke his right thumb during the Thursday morning workout and is scheduled to have a pin put in during Friday surgery. Freshman running back James Walley (State Line, Miss.) also is scheduled for Friday surgery to repair torn ligaments in his right thumb, an injury he suffered in Tuesday's workout. In addition, freshman wideout Chris Johnson (Gramercy, La.) re-injured his hand in today's morning session and saw only limited afternoon workout time in the afternoon. Junior college transfer Travares Comegys (Laurel, Miss.) also underwent orthoscopic knee surgery Monday afternoon to repair a torn meniscus he suffered in the morning workout opening day. He's expected back in a couple of weeks.
