Bulldogs ready to put on pads
T. Scott Boatright, Reporter
08-06-2008
The first few days of football training are usually uneventful as coaches and players work to get on the same page and back into the routine of preparing for the season opener.That’s the case for Louisiana Tech, which wrapped up day two of preseason workouts on Tuesday.
“(Monday) was a typical first practice and today was a typical second practice,” Tech coach Derek Dooley said. “The first day jitters were gone. We had great enthusiasm and a lot of great effort. The big thing now is we want to focus on execution.
“We want consistency over time. The key (Wednesday) is to go out there and work on the next phase, which is putting shoulder pads on. We get two days in just helmets to work out the jitters and now we’ll put shoulder pads on and start hitting.”
The Bulldogs will work in shoulder pads in split squads again today with the first full-team practice set for Thursday. The ’Dogs don full pads for the first time Friday.
A breeze and cloud cover kept things cooler for Tuesday’s workouts than it was on Monday, but the Tech staff is still closely watching its players to prevent problems due to the heat.
“The main thing is to just hydrate,” sophomore quarterback Ross Jenkins said. “Coach Dooley put in an extra break period in the middle of practice to catch our breath and rehydrate. But (working in the heat) is a good thing — it helps us get ready for the season.”
Dooley will be glad to see his team put on the pads.
“You can only be so intense without pads on,” Dooley said. “So far we’ve just worked on fundamentals and put in our system.”
And putting on the pads can’t come quick enough as Dooley watches the countdown toward Tech’s Aug. 30 season opener against Mississippi State in Joe Aillet Stadium.
“This is different from spring practice because you have to get it right,” Dooley said. “If you see something wrong, you have to get it right because you don’t have months to think about it and work on it.”
Dooley is known for his fast-paced football practices and said he’ll have the majority of his system in place by the start of next week.
“After six or seven practices, we’ll have about 80 percent of our schemes installed,” Dooley said. “We push the envelope pretty good on installing our system.”
Senior transfer quarterback Taylor Bennett started for Georgia Tech last season under then-Yellow Jackets coach Chan Gailey and said Louisiana Tech’s practice have been a change of pace for him.
“(Coach Dooley) is intense,” Bennett said. “Coach Gailey was reserved, but Coach Dooley is in there on every drill right next to you correcting what you did wrong and telling you what you did go. It’s a fast-paced, intense practice.”
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