University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Practice Report: August 14
8/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Venue: Joe P. Park Practice Facility
Format: Full Pads
Upcoming: Practice 13 (Saturday, Aug. 14 - scrimmage, which is closed to the media and general public)
Report: Southern Miss football continued preparation for the 2015 season with a two and a half hour workout at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility on Friday morning enjoying some of the most temperate weather that they have faced in camp. The Golden Eagles worked out in full pads during team, special teams and individual drills.
Head Coach Todd Monken
On some of the keys he is looking for in Saturday's scrimmage...
"I want to see our guys play hard. I want to see if we have taken the next step from a physicality standpoint. I want to hear the pads. I want to feel that black helmet. I want to feel our team. That's what it's about, doing things right to the best of your ability and being physical."
On today's practice...
"I told the team a sign of really good players and a really good team is how you bounce back from an average day. It upsets you enough to where your pride and your competitive spirit says `I'm correcting the mistakes that I made.' As a team, we did that today. That's a really good sign because that's what you've got to be about. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to fail, you're not going to always have it, but what are you going to do the next time out."
On the team's competitive juices flowing during the practice...
"We started off today with some live stuff and put the pads on. I think after yesterday's workout, that wasn't up to par, I thought today went really well. You have to play with an edge. You have to decide that it's my will versus my opponent's will. I have to play with a bit of an edge and I have to have a competitive spirit that I'm not going to shut it down. When it's hard I'm not going to shut it down. When we get that, and we are close, we are darn close. We are as close as we have been to understanding that."
Senior long snapper Lance Schuffert
On how camp has gone for the specialists...
"Camp is going well. It's a grind for the specialists, but we have a good kicking battle going well right now. I think one might separate himself in the scrimmage once we get some live kicks going. It's my fifth one, and it's a grind, but we have been pushing through and it's been nice."
Next Game: vs. Mississippi State (9 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 5, Fox Sports 1)
Tickets: Season tickets for the 2015 Southern Miss home season can be purchased by going online at SouthernMissTickets.com, or by calling the Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-844-TICK (8425) as well as visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Center on weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Upcoming Event: The 20th Annual Eagle Fanfare this Saturday, Aug. 15, at 2 p.m. The event will take place at the Lake Terrace Convention Center located at 1 Convention Center Plaza in Hattiesburg. Tickets are $5 per person or $20 per family and children ages 6 and under are free. Food and drink will be available for purchase. To pre-purchase tickets, visit the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office located on West 4th Street or call 1.800.844.TICK. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. The new Golden Eagle football uniforms will be unveiled at the event.
