University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Holds Final Two-A-Day Practice
8/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 21, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Today marked the end of two-a-day practice for the Southern Miss football team, as it held a two-hour morning session, before closing the day with a two-hour evening practice at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
"Two-a-days give the players a major test mentally and physically," Head Coach Jeff Bower said. "They went really well. Today was the coolest day we've had. We had cloud cover during this morning's practice, and we had a rain shower before we got out here tonight. I was told that the temperature dropped 10 degrees in the 30 minutes before we got out here. Today was the liveliest I've seen the players. It goes to show you how mental things can be."
Following Saturday's scrimmage, the team had Sunday off, giving the coaching staff plenty of time to dissect the scrimmage tape. Bower gave a report on what he saw on the tape.
"I was pleased with everything but kicking game," Bower said. "That wasn't where we needed to be. Other than that, it was good."
Based off Saturday's scrimmage, Bower announced some position changes. He said sophomore linebacker Gerald McRath will work more at middle linebacker in practice.
"We are experimenting there," Bower said. "We haven't been bad there, but we've got to be better. We're trying to get our best three linebackers. We're going to see what that looks like. The middle linebacker position is easy to learn. Gerald is very smart. He knows all three positions."
The other starting linebackers will be junior James Denley at strong-side and sophomore Tokumbo Abanikanda at weak-side linebacker. Freshman Brandon Davis will back up Denley at the strong-side position.
Senior defensive back/punt returner Jasper Faulk (hamstring) missed today's practice. Junior Chris Clark (ankle) missed the morning session, but practiced tonight, as did senior center Robby D'Angelo (knee surgery).
"We're not in bad shape injury wise," Bower said.
Following practice, Bower said he's not worried that a solid two-deep depth chart has not been completed.
"It's fairly common," Bower said. "I don't want it solidified. I don't want to name the two deep and have that be it. I want guys battling for starting jobs. You don't want complacency."
The team will hold its final preseason practice on Tuesday afternoon, before school starts on Wednesday, along with the normal practice routine.
Golden Eagle fans are also reminded that season tickets are now on sale. Additional information on tickets is available by contacting the Southern Miss Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK, 601-266-5418, or online at www.southernmiss.com.
Southern Miss opens the season on Sept. 2, with a 5 p.m., contest at Florida.
