Eagles Get Back to Practice Monday
8/11/2014 9:41:00 PM | Football
Final two-a-day practice of preseason camp set for Tuesday
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Post-practice interview with Coach Willie Fritz -- 8-11-2014 (All-Access subscription required)
STATESBORO, Ga. – A day off the practice field physically, but not mentally, allowed the Eagles to return to the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek," a little bit fresher on Monday morning. Without missing a beat, the Eagles got right back into the quick-tempo repetitions, drills and team work with their two-and-a-half hour practice in shells.
Teaching, and refinement, continued on both the offensive and defensive fields during position drills and in the final periods of practice as Coach Willie Fritz and the Eagle coaching staff both encouraged and made corrections throughout the session.
"The guys are working very hard, the coaches are coaching hard, and we have a had great job from all of our support staff," Fritz said as the Eagles hit the halfway point of preseason camp this weekend. "We still have a long way to go and we need to take advantage of all these practices leading up to N.C. State."
Saturday's first scrimmage and first practice in full pads gave the Georgia Southern coaching staff plenty of film to review as they make decisions and prepare for the second scrimmage. For the first 12 practices, all Eagles received equal opportunities to claim a spot in the rotations of their respective units. As the time for game prep draws closer, those repetitions will be divided more along the lines of the first and second units.
"We are still evaluating," Fritz said. "We have to start getting the guys who are going to be doing the ball playing on Saturdays and Thursdays evenings more repetitions. We have to make some changes in that regard."
Georgia Southern has its final two-a-day practice of preseason on Tuesday with a morning practice from 8-10 a.m. on the banks of "Beautiful Eagle Creek," and an evening practice from 7:45-9:30 p.m. at Paulson Stadium.
SEVENTIES? IN STATESBORO?
A "cold" snap in 2002 gave Statesboro three-straight days of 60-degree weather during the month of August and the Eagles have enjoyed similar cool weather during preason with a mid-70s day again on Monday. Coach Willie Fritz commented, "How can you beat this weather? You don't see this very often in August."
Despite a torrential downpour Sunday night that unloaded nearly four inches of rain in two hours, the practice fields drained well and did not hinder the Eagles early Monday. The rainstorm did add a few inches of water to what has been a fairly dry "Beautiful Eagle Creek."
LIVING HISTORY
The Eagles had the day off from physical activity on Sunday, but still spent the majority of the day with their coaches and teammates. After breakfast at the Dining Commons, the team was invited to attend services at a local church and enjoyed lunch and fellowship with community members. After special teams meetings and dinner, the team watched "Erk Russell Miracle Worker," a historical piece on the resurrection of the Georgia Southern Football program and head coaching career of legendary Coach Erk Russell. Dr. Bucky Wagner, the director of athletics during that time, College Hall of Fame member Tracy Ham, and Eagle letterwinners Tim Durden, Darryl Hopkins and Vic Cabral spoke to the Eagles after the program.
FOOTBALL OPERATIONS CENTER RIBBON CUTTING AND TOURS
Eagle fans will be able to tour the new Football Operations Center, including seeing the the new locker room and other facility highlights on Saturday, August 16th following the official ribbon cutting. Georgia Southern University President Brooks Keel and Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein invite Eagle Nation to the ribbon cutting at 9 a.m. and to tour the building prior to the final scrimmage of preseason camp.
GATA CLUB EVENT AT FIRST HOME GAME
Georgia Southern Athletics and the Athletic Foundation will play host to an all-sports reunion Saturday, Sept. 6th, centered around the Eagles' 2014 home-opener against Savannah State. Eagle student-athlete alumni, coaches, managers, equipment managers and athletic trainers of any sport are eligible to receive a free ticket to the football game and purchase additional tickets for their family at a discounted rate of $17 per person. To get access to the free football tickets, Eagle sports alumni must RSVP by filling out the registration form.
There will be an all-sports alumni tailgate with free food and beverages from 2-5 p.m. in the parking lot of Paulson Stadium with a halftime ceremony recognizing alumni in attendance. Director of Athletics Tom Kleinlein and Associate Director of Athletics for Special Projects and Eagle alum Tracy Ham will speak at the tailgate. A schedule of events can be found on the registration form.
SEASON TICKETS ON SALE
Season tickets for the Eagles' first campaign in the Sun Belt Conference and FBS are on sale online now at GSEagles.com/fbtix and weekdays 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. by calling 1-800-GSU-WINS. The five-game home campaign opens September 6th vs. Savannah State with two historic Thursday night games on ESPNU September 25th vs. Appalachian State and October 30th vs. Troy.
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/
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