Walking the O-Line with George Batiste
8/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
During the 2006 Southern Miss Golden Eagle Football Season, senior offensive lineman George Batiste will sit down with Southern Miss Athletic Media Relations Graduate Assistant Mallory Haynes to discuss the ins and outs of Golden Eagle Football.
August 25, 2006: Second Diary Entry
Thoughts about classes:
I'm taking twelve hours this semester. I have an early morning class that meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. That's my only class for those days so it's not that bad. My classes are really easy but you still have to take care of business. When you get easy classes you tend to slip every now and then because you don't give them very much attention. This is my last go-round and I've got to get out of here. I have to lock and load.
On a football player's daily routine:
A typical day for me is to go from class to weights to practice. In between those times there are slim time slots when you try to get something to eat before you go to practice. There really isn't that much time to do anything during football and there isn't much to do anyway. Football is what we're here for so we really don't focus on anything else as much as that.
On team meetings after practice:
We have meetings at the end of practice where the seniors each get up and say something to the team. The seniors have been leaders and are able to see things that some of the other players don't see or even know to look for. The head coach gets up and talks about some things. It is basically used as a little emphasis period. It keeps everyone aware of the day and gives everyone some words of encouragement.
On how the team welcomes its "rookies":
We don't do any type of initiation like in some other sports. We don't shave heads or make anyone dress up or anything like that. They're just like us and we treat them like family. There isn't any type of hazing involved. They earn their part out on the field every day and that is what counts.
Thoughts on his week:
We just got out of camp and now we're starting school so we're in a little transition phase. Right now we're trying to catch up on sleep and get our minds right before the end of the day. When we're finished with one part of the day we have another part which is Football 101. There isn't that much to do. Time goes by fast so we have to stay on top of our game.