University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Goes Through Second Practice Saturday Morning on Campus
8/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 4, 2007
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - For the second-straight day, the Southern Miss football team split its practice between first-year and returning players, here, Saturday morning at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
The day began early for the Golden Eagle rookies, as they began their workout at 8 a.m., followed by the veterans hitting the field at 9:10 a.m.
"We used the same routine as yesterday," said 17th-year Golden Eagle Football Coach Jeff Bower. "We brought the young guys out early and worked them, before having the returners come out. We mixed in a few more guys with the returning players during phase two of the workout. We are still doing a lot of teaching with the young players and they are learning our routine gradually."
Bower said that two of the players that were brought out, Saturday, with the varsity were freshmen running backs Antwain Easterling (Miami, Fla.) and V.J. Floyd (Orlando, Fla.), because of the late arrival of another walk-on running back and the presence of only two returning running backs in the second portion of the workout from Friday.
"We practiced the two freshmen in the first phase, and we only had two running backs in the second phase - with (Damion) Fletcher and Tory Harrison, Friday." Bower added. "We brought the other two signees in this stage of the practice, because we don't want to overdo it with these guys (Harrison and Fletcher)."
Bower added that junior transfer and offensive lineman Julius Gray (Prentiss, Miss.), along with freshman defensive back Chico Hunter (Vicksburg, Miss.) also practiced during the second portion of the workout.
The first-year players went for a little over an hour on position drills, before the veterans hit the field. The rookies then ended their day at 10 a.m., before the returning players went another 1:45 before ending the day with a conditioning period. Despite starting earlier in the day, the temperature on the Southern Miss campus was balmy and in the low 90s.
The Golden Eagles will attend church and have position and team meetings, Sunday, before returning to practice as a whole squad on Monday, at 8:30 a.m.
