Aug. 17, 2006
With just two practices left in fall camp prior to fall semester classes starting, the Baylor football team worked for more than two hours Thursday evening on the grass practice fields and for the third consecutive day the mercury topped 100 degrees when the Bears started practice.
"We tried to rest our receivers and play with the Big Y's and H's, but for some reason we had some dropped balls and took a couple of sacks maybe we didn't have to take," said Baylor head coach Guy Morriss. "We just didn't seem to find much rhythm this evening.
"I know that we are tired, but we have one more (practice) tomorrow that we have to push through, then Saturday we'll come out for about an hour and do the special teams review, and then we'll be off Saturday evening and all day Sunday, which should freshen them back up," he continued. "I think we are probably more mentally tired right now than we are physically tired right now. It's been 15 days in a row, the same stuff over and over. A dull mind makes you a dull player, so I understand that. We'd like to have a good one tomorrow and finish the week strong."
After utilizing a limited number of two-a-day practices in his first three seasons at Baylor, Morriss and his staff switched to the once-a-day practice routine this fall and so far have been pleased with the results on the field.
"Maybe next year we might give them a day off so they don't have to go 17 days in a row," Morriss said. "Next year will be a different deal because it won't be so taxing because they'll know it (the offense) by then. Right now, we are trying to get them to focus on the little details and their just kind of dead-headed right now."
Junior linebacker Nick Moore (muscle strain) returned to practice Thursday and senior center Yancy Boatner was cleared for non-contact work after missing the past week after sustaining a concussion on Aug. 10. While seven Bears missed the entire workout, at least 10 others were able to join Boatner and go through all phases of practice except the contact periods.
Senior defensive end Julian Hill (sore knee), senior offensive tackle Travis Farst (knee), freshman offensive lineman Dylan Hagens (sore back), senior linebacker Paul Howard (knee), junior cornerback Braelon Davis (sore knee), senior offensive guard Will Blaylock (muscle strain) and preseason All-America punter Daniel Sepulveda (knee) all were sidelined Thursday.
"We are getting some guys back, but we need them to go through the whole workout and have them in there for the team periods," Morriss said. "We want them to get well before we put them back out here and stress them again. It's like biting your lip. You think you know what you've got, but I've got four linemen who are going to suit up and play every Saturday sitting in the training room. They'll all be ready by game day, it's just little nagging stuff that if you don't let it heal or get better, then you are back in there for another two weeks. So, you've got to bite the bullet and do what you can with what's out here."
Notes: Baylor returns to work on Friday at 6 p.m. ... Baylor will hold its annual "Meet the Bears" Day on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 4 p.m. inside Floyd Casey Stadium, then wind up training camp with a 6 p.m. practice on the stadium turf ... For the third straight practice, the Bears began their workout with temperatures over the century mark, as it was 103.4 at the start of practice on Thursday, up 3.3 degrees from Wednesday.
