University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Golden Eagles Start Open Week with Full-Pad Practice
9/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 4, 2012
Season Ticket Information | Single Game Ticket Information
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - Although the Southern Miss football team enjoys their off week this Saturday, the Golden Eagles returned to the practice field with the mindset of getting better for their next contest, Sept. 15, against East Carolina.
First-year Golden Eagle coach Ellis Johnson cut the squad's practice time down, working just under two hours in full pads at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility, but felt like the team got a lot accomplished during their time on the field.
"They know what we need to do to get better," said Johnson. "Today, we cut the time down but we got a lot more contact and worked on fundamentals. We'll probably do a little bit more tomorrow, but we're going to cut the time down.
"We're trying not to be on the field too long, but trying to get some things done as far as corrections and fundamentals and get better individually. We may, Thursday and Friday, slip in a little bit of East Carolina preparation. We've already got them broken down so we may start working on them."
Johnson emphasized that the Golden Eagles needed to improve in some areas this week before starting work on the team's home opener next weekend against East Carolina.
"We've watched a ton of film on ECU," said Johnson. "Coaches have seen what they do on both sides of the ball. We don't need to start too early on it because we've got a lot things that we need to get better on ourselves and not worry about anyone we're playing (just yet)."
The Golden Eagles return to the practice field Wednesday afternoon.
