Aug. 15, 2008
Read official "View From The Hill" blog about fall practice
Head coach Art Briles put his Baylor football squad through a morning practice Friday, after the conclusion of summer school finals Thursday. The Bears practiced two-and-a-half hours in cooler temperatures than they'd experienced through the first two weeks of fall camp.
The Bears return to the practice field Saturday for a 10 a.m. scrimmage. Following the scrimmage (approximately noon) the team will hold its annual Meet The Bears day outside near the practice fields, in which players will sign autographs and take pictures with the fans. [Briles quotes below.]
NOTES: Fifth-year defensive tackle Vincent Rhodes is scheduled to graduate Saturday with a degree in Education... Baylor opens its 2008 season Aug. 28 when it hosts 23rd-ranked Wake Forest at Floyd Casey Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in front of an FSN national television audience.
BAYLOR HEAD COACH Art Briles - Aug. 15, 2008
On Saturday's scheduled scrimmage:
"The main thing tomorrow is a good, intense, intelligent effort, with the emphasis on coming out of it healthy. We've been going about 35, 40 plays with our certain groups. We'll probably get 55, 60 tomorrow. So it'll be a little longer and we'll be able to get a little better look at what's happening."
On the importance of scrimmages:
"It's important for both coaches and players. We've got to make sure we're prepared for each situation, then the players, all they have to do is get on the field and make plays and adjust to what's going on. It's a chance to just learn more football and understand the situation because that's what football is; it's all about the situation."
On the weather Friday morning:
"It was really pleasant compared to yesterday morning. We feel very fortunate that we got good weather this morning."
On the progress his team is making:
"The good thing is that we could play right now. If they said, "play tomorrow," we could play tomorrow. We're far enough along to get on the field and play. Will there be a bump or two in the road? Yeah, but there probably will be in October also. We understand that we're going to make mistakes, but we're just going to play hard and at full tilt."
On Saturday's planned event, Meet the Bears:
"I'm really excited about that. That's great for our players. We hope the fans enjoy what we do. It's an opportunity for them to see what a great group of guys we have. These are good guys and good ambassadors of Baylor University and Baylor football. It's a privilege for us to be able to mix and mingle with the fans."
