University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Weather Continues To Dictate Practice Schedule
9/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Weather Continues To Dictate Practice Schedule
Hattiesburg, Miss. -The passage and remnants of tropical storm Isidore dictated Thursday's practice schedule as Southern Miss wrapped up preparations for Saturday's game at Army, the second C-USA game of the season for Head Coach Jeff Bower and his Golden Eagles.
After starting Tuesday's workout early in an effort to finish ahead of late afternoon rains, and then working at 5:30 a.m., Wednesday to stay away from anticipated late afternoon heavy rain, the Eagles finished the work week with an indoor session today, the offense working in the Payne Center and the defense in the Sports Arena.
Bower says the conditions were not ideal, but that the Eagles accomplished what they needed to get done. "This week was obviously not our regular practice week," Bower said. "But, we've gotten everything done that we could get done, under the circumstances. We're actually going to practice at 8 o'clock Friday morning, get some kicking game in, something we haven't done the last couple of days. Then, we'll meet, and load up and go.
"I don't know what more we could have done to get ready, considering the weather."
Senior running back Derrick Nix was back at practice Thursday, after fighting a stomach virus since the Alabama game. How much he will play remains to be seen. "It just depends on how he feels," Bower said. "He's doing well right now, but I don't see us playing him as much as we would if he had been out here all week."
Because of that situation, the Eagles will take an extra running back for the Army game. Freshman William Adams will fill that spot. "Because of the situation at running back, we wanted to take the extra back," Bower said. "Given Nix's situation, ( James) Walley has been banged up, and (Anthony) Harris has the bad thumb. Defensive end Darris McKenzie will not make the trip. He's still having back problems."
In working to bounce back from the loss at Alabama, Bower says he will be looking for a couple of things from his squad. "I want us to play hard, be physical and play with great effort," he said. "I don't think we did that at Alabama. It's important for the players to come off the field feeling good about themselves. I think we'll do that, and we'll play well this weekend."
The team is scheduled to fly charter jet out of Pine Belt Regional Airport at noon Friday for the two-hour-plus flight to Newark (N.J.) Airport. The Army game marks the third meeting between the two teams. Southern Miss won both previous games. The game also is the second of three-straight road games that will see the Eagles go from Alabama, to West Point, N.Y. (Army), to Tampa, Fla. (South Florida), before finally returning home for an Oct. 19 homecoming game against Cincinnati.
