University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Day Two Of Preseason Football Practice
8/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 5, 2006
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Day two of preseason practice began with an 8 a.m., newcomer session, followed by a special teams period with the full team, before the returning players concluded the second day with a two-hour session at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility today.
Head Coach Jeff Bower was again pleased with the days work, but not about the end of practice.
"It was good, "Bower said. "Practice fell off at the end. We had some guys get tired. Overall, the effort was good. We got a lot done."
Today was another hot day on the practice fields, but Bower said the heat is crucial to getting the team properly conditioned not only for the upcoming two-a-days, but also the season.
"You've got to pay a price during the summer with the conditioning," Bower said. "You can tell the ones that did and didn't spend time in the sun. Most of ours did. You have to put a lot of time in the heat. That's also the purpose of the five-day acclimation process where you can only go one day, letting them adjust more to the heat before two-a-days."
But while the players are getting adjusted to the heat, Bower and the coaching staff continue to focus on the basics, before practice picks up speed next week.
"We want to get our players to master fundamentals," Bower said. "We want to pay a lot of attention to that. The difference between good teams and great teams, there's talent, but they are great technicians and great in fundamentals."
Bower also announced following practice that sophomore defensive back Ed Morgan (Thibodaux, La.) has been moved back to wide receiver. Morgan played in seven games in 2005 at the wide receiver position.
"We filled a void there," Bower said.
The team will not practice on Sunday and returns to the practice field with a 9 a.m., practice on Monday. The first full team practice is set for Tuesday and the first two-a-day practice will be Thursday.
Southern Miss opens the season on Sept. 2, with a 5 p.m., contest at Florida.
