Intensity Increases as Eagles Practice in Full Pads Monday
8/6/2013 1:22:00 PM | Football
VIDEO: Post-practice interview with Coach Jeff Monken -- 9-5-2013
PHOTO GALLERY: August 5, 2013
STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Football held its first practice in full pads Monday, August, 5th, on the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek," with the requiem temperatures usually associated with August in Statesboro. Adding about nine pounds to their frames after the Eagles' first practice last week in just helmets, shorts and shirts, Georgia Southern practiced for 19 periods, which included individual and position drills, skelly and team interaction.
"This is an opportunity for us to evaluate these guys, particularly the young guys," said Georgia Southern Head Coach Jeff Monken. "There is a lot of installation going in right now, and even for the veterans, some of that, they are learning it again as spring ball is a long way away from right now. They haven't thought about the Xs and Os over the summer. Today is a good day for us to learn and see tempo and set some standards for what we expect."
What the Georgia Southern coaching staff will see on film from today's practice allows them to provide feedback to the Eagles and shows what the players are absorbing, or not absorbing, from meetings and watching film. The work, and learning, continues on the practice fields day after day.
After individual drills for both offense and defense, the Eagle offense worked on the option for five periods, which included reviewing plays for the veterans and new installations for the newcomers. Kevin Ellison, Vegas Harley, Alfred Ramsby and Favian Upshaw all had additional reps as senior Jerick McKinnon did not practice due to illness. Three periods of skelly gave both sides an opportunity during this interaction to work on the passing game.
"We want our interaction periods – with our offense players and defensive players going against each other - we have a limited number of periods when we do that – we want there to be some intensity and it to be full speed so these guys can turn it loose," Monken said. "There's the risk of getting your guys knocked around and banged up, and we had some of that today, but there's also the need to develop the toughness and the tempo that we're looking for."
Georgia Southern continues its preseason practice schedule with its first two-a-day on Tuesday, August 6th. The Eagles will practice in full pads in the morning with a 9:15 call for stretch and shells in the afternoon for 18 periods beginning after stretch at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday is the first scheduled day away from the practice field for the Eagles when they'll spend time watching film and in team meetings before having the time off in the afternoon.
TRANSACTIONS: Offensive lineman Austin Hagan will assist the Georgia Southern Football program in other capacities after being medically disqualified from practicing or participating as a student-athlete. Senior defensive end Terico Agnew will not return to the team.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics and twitter.com/GSAthletics, and its new "Eagles GATA" mobile app for Android and iOS. Fans can follow Coach Jeff Monken on his official twitter account, @CoachJeffMonken.
