University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Progressing Through Spring Practices
3/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Golden Eagles Progressing Through Spring Practices HATTIESBURG, Miss. --
The practice was the fourth of a maximum 15 spring workouts allowed, and Southern Miss Head Coach Jeff Bower said that there has been a lot to learn for his team in a short amount of time.
"We have put a lot in," Bower said. "We backed off a little bit defensively today, just because of youth, which is something that showed up on Saturday. We still have a lot of learning to do, and we have a lot of learning to do as coaches about who our best 11 players will be. As I mentioned before, there is a lot of good competition, and when you have that, it is important for guys to come out and work hard every day."
Bower liked what he has seen with the overall progress of the spring sessions, with the exception of a scrimmage period during Saturday's practice.
"I have been pleased with the progress so far, but I wasn't too pleased with the intensity in our goal line work on Saturday," Bower said. "But maybe some of that was because of our youth. We will pick it up."
The team will return to practice on Thursday and will hold a light scrimmage. Friday will also see the Eagles practice, while Saturday's session will feature a full scrimmage at the USM Track and Soccer Complex.
Bower has been a bit concerned with the amount of injuries plaguing the Eagles this spring, with possibly more injuries than in years past.
"There are a few too many injuries this early in the spring," Bower said. "Some of the players who are injured need to be out here getting the reps."
Bower said that both Jared Parten and Jonathan Palmer are out with shoulder injuries, while Sherron Moore has a pulled muscle in his back. Greg Casnave will be sidelined at least through the end of the week with a neck injury. Two players, DeMarcus Barner and LeVon Pears will not participate in spring drills, recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and an appendectomy, respectively.
