University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Football Opens Preseason Practice Friday
8/5/2022 1:54:00 PM | Football
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – As Will Hall stepped in front of the assembled media Friday morning to assess the team's first day of preseason practice for year No. 2, his message was simple in the difference between last year and this year's team.
"The biggest difference is talent," said Hall. "It's great to talk culture and all these cool words that everybody talks about, but at the end of the day, players win games. Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia are going to be really good this year because they have way better players than everybody else. So, the biggest difference in us from year one and to year two is that we have a lot more good football players now than we did."
While he did say that the Golden Eagles were far from a finished product, Hall stated that this year's team were in much better shape this season to compete. A big part of that equation is the additional scholarship players that bolstered the school back up to 85 scholarships this fall.
During the opening practice, Hall saw his team run three full groups on both lines of scrimmage during team periods which "was a huge step forward for our program."
The practice also was the end result of a lot of hard work by Hall and his staff over the last eight months through recruiting and off-season workouts to get this team ready for today and the 2022 season.
"We are reaping the rewards of a lot of hard work," said Hall of his team's first practice. "It is like a celebration from all the recruiting and the work that we have done and to be able to go out there and have a real college practice like we did today."
The focus now is transitioning this program from a coach-led to a player-led program and Hall sees that coming.
"The continuation from being a coach-led program to a player-led program and it is going really well," said Hall. "We are at that point. You see a lot of leaders arising from Swayze Bozeman, Eric Scott, and Jason Brownlee was up here at 5:30 this morning with the music blaring and just fired up and ready to go to set the pace.
"Also there is the familiarity with how we do things – the language in which we speak. The kids know what I am thinking a lot and they can repeat what I am going to say a lot, which is a positive. Because that is what a true program is when you can get to that point."
As for the work on the first day of practice, Hall said that the squad got everything in place for the first day
.
"We have an installation process that is a very thought through plan," said Hall. "We wanted to put in all of our low red zone work from a passing and a run-game perspective. It was a good day of getting all that stuff in (place)."
The Golden Eagles return to the practice fields Saturday morning at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
Season tickets for the 2022 home schedule are available by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office, weekdays, during normal business hours.
"The biggest difference is talent," said Hall. "It's great to talk culture and all these cool words that everybody talks about, but at the end of the day, players win games. Alabama, Ohio State and Georgia are going to be really good this year because they have way better players than everybody else. So, the biggest difference in us from year one and to year two is that we have a lot more good football players now than we did."
While he did say that the Golden Eagles were far from a finished product, Hall stated that this year's team were in much better shape this season to compete. A big part of that equation is the additional scholarship players that bolstered the school back up to 85 scholarships this fall.
During the opening practice, Hall saw his team run three full groups on both lines of scrimmage during team periods which "was a huge step forward for our program."
The practice also was the end result of a lot of hard work by Hall and his staff over the last eight months through recruiting and off-season workouts to get this team ready for today and the 2022 season.
"We are reaping the rewards of a lot of hard work," said Hall of his team's first practice. "It is like a celebration from all the recruiting and the work that we have done and to be able to go out there and have a real college practice like we did today."
The focus now is transitioning this program from a coach-led to a player-led program and Hall sees that coming.
"The continuation from being a coach-led program to a player-led program and it is going really well," said Hall. "We are at that point. You see a lot of leaders arising from Swayze Bozeman, Eric Scott, and Jason Brownlee was up here at 5:30 this morning with the music blaring and just fired up and ready to go to set the pace.
"Also there is the familiarity with how we do things – the language in which we speak. The kids know what I am thinking a lot and they can repeat what I am going to say a lot, which is a positive. Because that is what a true program is when you can get to that point."
As for the work on the first day of practice, Hall said that the squad got everything in place for the first day
.
"We have an installation process that is a very thought through plan," said Hall. "We wanted to put in all of our low red zone work from a passing and a run-game perspective. It was a good day of getting all that stuff in (place)."
The Golden Eagles return to the practice fields Saturday morning at the Joe P. Park Practice Facility.
Season tickets for the 2022 home schedule are available by visiting SouthernMissTickets.com, by calling 1-800-844-TICK (8425) or by visiting the Pat Ferlise Ticket Office, weekdays, during normal business hours.
Players Mentioned
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