University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Start Jackson State Preps Monday
8/23/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagles Start Jackson State Preps Monday
Hattiesburg, Miss. - Following a spirited, 75-minute Friday morning workout, the Southern Miss football Golden Eagles now take a weekend break before starting full-scale preparations for the Aug. 31, season-opener against Jackson State.
The early-morning workout was a first for Head Coach Jeff Bower in his 11 seasons as head coach. The team regularly holds morning workouts during fall two-a-day practice, but not at 6 o'clock. "I really liked it," Bower said. "We look for ways to break up the routine for the players and coaches, and I think this really worked well. We gave the players the opportunity to decide whether to do the early morning workout or hold our regular afternoon practice.
"They picked the morning, and, as well as it went, it's something we might consider down the road for other workouts. There are some advantages."
The team reports back to campus late Sunday afternoon and then will have four afternoon workouts to complete preparations for the second-ever game against the Tigers. Southern Miss won that first game, 17-7 in 1987, before a crowd of 33,687, the second-largest crowd ever to watch a game in Roberts Stadium.
The demand for tickets to the game has been steady, and, as a result, single-game ticket sales for the season-opener were suspended last week in order to retain tickets for late season ticket purchasers. Any remaining tickets will be put on sale sometime next week, and athletic officials say the addition of 2,100 south end zone bleacher seats for the game could help eclipse the all-time Roberts Stadium record of 34,189, set in 1989 against Mississippi State.
The Eagles spent much of the fast-paced Friday practice working with various phases of the kicking game. "We reviewed a lot of what we've done the past three weeks and worked extensively with all of our kicking game," Bower said.
Following the Jackson State game, Southern Miss stays at home for games against Illinois, Sept. 7, and Memphis, Sept. 14, before hitting the road for the first time, Sept. 21, at Alabama.
