University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Open Spring Practice
3/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagles Open Spring Practice
Hattiesburg, Miss. - The Southern Miss football team is through with workout No. 1, of 15 allotted spring workouts Wednesday with a two-hour, and 35-minute session. That's the first of four workouts of opening week, with sessions also planned for Friday (3:30 p.m.), Saturday (1:30 p.m.) and Sunday (2:30 p.m.).
The squad spent opening day in shorts and helmets, one of three such workouts required in the spring period. Teams are allowed 12 contact days during the spring, but only three of those can be full contact sessions.
Head Coach Jeff Bower called the first practice "fairly typical," with a lot of learning, a lot of installation, and a lot of enthusiasm. "We threw a lot of offense at them, for a first day," Bower said. "I thought they did a good job picking things up. I thought our attitude was good, and we had good concentration. Because of the new members we have on our coaching staff, there's a lot of terminology changes that the players have to get acclimated to. There's some carryover, some of the plays are similar, but there are a lot of new things to it as well."
Bower says the new offensive staff has worked hard to get a new offense ready to install. "The new coaches have gotten input from everyone on the staff, as we got ready to put in the new offense," Bower said. "I know the new coaches were excited about being here and getting started. I thought things went well for a first day."
Picking up the new system is something that everyone has to do, but Bower says the coaches make every effort to keep things as simple as possible. "When they (the offensive line) see all those defensive fronts, it's hard enough for them without being complicated. It may be a little awkward at first, but it was easy to see that the players had done a lot of studying, that they had picked up a lot of it, before we came out here, and everyone has to learn it. It'll come quickly for them."
Bower says having new staff members changes practice somewhat, mostly in an effort to get coaches acquainted with the players. "We have to get to know each other, and I want our coaches to get to know everyone on the field," he said. "That's why you practice, to get acquainted, and the coaches will pick that up quickly. That's the reason we put names on the helmets, just to make it easier for the coaches to get to know everyone as fast as possible.
Bower says with a lot of new faces on the offensive side of the ball and with the new coaching staff members, the focus of spring work is somewhat different from some past seasons. "To me, the most important thing is working hard every day and improving a little every day," he said. "That's kind of what our goals are this spring. It's a long road from now until the end of next season, and if you'll work hard and get a little better each day, then I think there's a chance for us to have a pretty good football team and accomplish some pretty good things.
"That's what I want us to do as a group. Obviously, we have some specific things that we're working on, that we have to get better at, in all three phases of the game, but, overall, working hard and having a great attitude are the most important things we can do in the spring."
