University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Eagles Continue Bowl Practice
12/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Eagles Continue Bowl Practice
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Heavy overnight rain and the resulting drenched practice fields forced Southern Miss inside for Tuesday's workout as the Golden Eagles continue early preparations for their Dec. 27th Houston Bowl encounter with Oklahoma State.
"We had intended on working outside, in pads, today," said Head Coach Jeff Bower. "But, the fields were just too wet for us to do that. We did get in some quality work inside, and our plans call for us to go outside Wednesday." The Eagles' practice schedule shows the team working Wednesday, Friday and Saturday this week, taking a four-day break and then practicing Dec. 19-22, before the team departs the for Houston the following day.
Two key players also missed today's workout, quarterback Micky D'Angelo and running back Derrick Nix. Doctors, examining a sprained knee D'Angelo suffered in the East Carolina game, discovered a lump behind his left knee. Further Tuesday morning tests, including an MRI, determined that the growth was a benign cyst, and D'Angelo is expected to return to practice either Wednesday or Friday.
Bower also announced that Nix's protein levels were back up, that the senior running back had gained some weight and that doctors were working to readjust his medications. "We're not sure exactly what his situation is," Bower said. "It's day-to-day right now, and we hope to have him back in plenty of time to get ready for the bowl game. We feel for him, because he has fought his way through a lot of adversity the past couple of seasons." Nix missed part of the 2000 season with the same kidney-related problems, all of the 2001 season, and played at less than full effectiveness for the second half of the 2002 season.
Bower also is concerned with getting ready for an Oklahoma State team he says has been as prolific as any teams in the country in recent weeks. "They have been able to score against just about everyone they've played," he said. "They have one of the best receivers in the country, they can run the ball, and we have our work cut out for us, as we look for ways to stop a high-powered offense and ways to score against a quality defense."
