Golden Eagle Football Headquarters In Memphis

Golden Eagle Football Headquarters In Memphis

Jeff Bower

Terrance Ford

MEMPHIS, Tenn. ? The Southern Miss football team traveled to Memphis today and set up headquarters after being devastated by Hurricane Katrina earlier in the week. The Golden Eagles will begin practice tomorrow at the University of Memphis and will stay in the city of Memphis until they travel to face the University of Alabama next week.

?Thank goodness for the city of Memphis and especially the University of Memphis,? Southern Miss Head Football Coach Jeff Bower said. ?I don?t know what else we could do. I know our football team is very appreciative of everything Memphis is doing for us.

The Golden Eagles loaded three buses at 10 a.m., this morning and stopped for lunch in Jackson, Miss., and arrived in Memphis around 4 p.m.

?We missed a lot of practice days,? Bower said. ?These kids haven?t hardly eaten. They haven?t had a lot of fluids and like me a lot of them are looking forward to a hot shower. It?s difficult and we had to change our plans and make the proper adjustments. We are ultimately concerned about the welfare of our players and their families. We still have two or three players who haven?t made it back yet.

?These players aren?t thinking about football right now. We?ve got to do a good job as a coaching staff to get these players minds back on football. We expect our players to step up and first step is right now. I want them to watch football games on television tonight so they will start thinking football again. We need to work our way back into shape. There is a lot of work to be done before we play again next week. We need to work hard and get our players back into shape and give them something else to think about.?

Southern Miss hasn?t practiced since a short practice was held on Sunday night before Katrina hit Hattiesburg on Monday. Since then, the coaching staff and players have been locating family members and trying to evaluate the effects from the hurricane.

?It?s pretty bad in Hattiesburg, but not as bad as it is on the coast or in New Orleans,? Senior quarterback Dustin Almond said. ?It?s going to be tough for the guys to get in their rooms and see what is happening back home. It is never ending. It?s like a nightmare you can?t wake up from. It was tough waking up Tuesday and seeing all the destruction.

?Some of us got out of town and was with our family. I want to help them, be there and do something for them. My family is without power and lights and water. I tried to help as much as possible. I haven?t slept well since Saturday. We have to do something else to take our minds off this. We have to go out and play ball.

?The whole way up, I was thinking about whether I should go back and help my family or to stay on the bus. My family kept saying if you okay, then we?re okay. The only thing is that is much more than that.?

The mood on the bus was quiet as most of the players were thinking about their teammates and family members. Several of the players still haven?t heard from their families and that was on their minds.

?My whole family is there,? senior defensive lineman Terrance Ford, who hails from Gheens, La. (about 50 miles southeast of New Orleans) said. ?I?ve put this in the hands of the Lord. I?ve thought about a lot of things. I tried to go down there and they wouldn?t let me get too far so I had to turn around and come back to Hattiesburg. I have numerous family members in the New Orleans area. This makes you appreciate things a lot of more.

?It makes you realize the seriousness of the situation. It?s bad in the Hattiesburg area. There is a lot of trees down and homes that are destroyed. The players are concerned about the other players and their families. It was a long, very long ride up here. Many guys didn?t sleep. It will help us to play football to take our minds off of this.?

University of Southern Mississippi Athletics

Golden Eagle Football Headquarters In Memphis

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