Eagles End First Half of Bowl Practice
12/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Eagles End First Half of Bowl Practice
Hattiesburg, Miss. -Southern Miss coaches divided their Houston Bowl practice schedule into two segments, and Saturday morning finished the first of those two segments with a workout that left the staff happy and sent the players into a four-day break in a positive frame of mind.
"We were a little sluggish Wednesday, but we were right in the middle of exams, and last two days have been good ones," Head Coach Jeff Bower said. "We've gotten a lot out of our practices this week."
Bower also says preparing for a team such as Oklahoma State presents a lot of challenges. "We have to work hard, and be ready to earn the win. We'll go to work when we come back on Thursday, we'll have some tough physical practices, and we, as a staff, obviously have to give the squad a good game plan as a staff. As a team, though, we have to work hard and get ready.
"We're playing a team that's as hot as any team in the country, and I think our players are looking forward to the challenge. We'll have to play well to win, but I'm sure the players will accept that challenge and get themselves ready to play."
As the fall semester ends, the news also was good on the academic front for the Golden Eagles, a fact that pleased the head coach. "We had eight seniors who had graduated prior to the season," he said. "We had six more last night (Friday), and the remaining six are on schedule to graduate in the spring. That's what it's all about and we're always proud of our players when they do well in the classroom.
"In addition, offensive lineman Jason Jimenez was named to the "Who's Who of College Students" and that's an honor. We had over 400 Southern Miss students nominated, only 41 earned the honors. We're proud of him."
The Golden Eagles now take four days off, return to the campus late Wednesday, then will work Thursday (Dec. 19) through Sunday (Dec. 22), then depart for Houston the following day.
Tickets to the Dec. 27, game remain on sale through the Athletic Ticket Office, or by calling, 601-266-5418 or 1-800-844-TICK.