University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Continues Preparations For Season Opener
8/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 22, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss football team, clad in shorts and shoulder pads, completed its first practice since beginning fall classes, today, with a two-hour workout at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
"We went light today," Head Coach Jeff Bower said at the end of the practice. "We needed to back off a little bit. The first day of school usually isn't a good practice, so I decided to try something new in order to see if they could get a good mental frame of mind. They came out and worked pretty well. It's a different routine when you start school, so they seem to never practice as good as usual. I think we concentrated better and got a lot of fundamental things done."
Bower mentioned the stability of the depth chart as the season opener creeps right around the corner. He said that he hoped almost everyone on the squad will be settled into their permanent positions by next Monday, with the exception of a few.
"We still need to give some guys more reps," Bower added. "We had Micah (Brown) snapping today, so I'm hoping we will find out more about him by the early part of next week."
Brown (Troy, Ala.) missed preseason preparations while recovering from a broken foot which he sustained during the spring, but returned to action as well as offensive lineman Ryan Hebert. The Gray, La., native was allowed to take some reps in today's workout but was limited in his participation.
"He said he felt decent, but he is going to have to work through that," Bower noted on Hebert. "He's going to have his good days and bad days, but it's time to get him going. I don't know if he'll be ready by the first game."
The Golden Eagles return to the practice facility on Thursday with another afternoon workout, before finishing the week with a morning practice on Friday.
Southern Miss opens the season on September 1, hosting Tennessee-Martin in a 6 p.m. contest at Carlisle-Faulkner Field at "The Rock."
For tickets, call the Southern Miss Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or via the internet at www.SouthernMiss.com.
