Fast Tempo Continues in First Practice; Special Teams Emphasized at Night
8/6/2014 1:36:00 AM | Football
Eagles split two-a-day at practice fields and Paulson Stadium
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STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern Football team split its time between the Eagle Creek practice complex and Paulson Stadium on Tuesday with their first two-a-day practice. The morning practice, held at the usual 8 a.m. time, went for just under 24 periods or about two hours with individual drills and extremely rapid team work periods. Tuesday evening, starting as the sun began to set over Bishop Field House, ended under the lights as the Eagles went from an hour and 45 minutes, focusing primarily on special teams.
"The great thing about preseason practice is that you don't have school, so you don't have the full day of classes, and the other students aren't back yet, so you don't have that distraction," said Head Coach Willie Fritz. "I think our guys enjoy this part of the season because it is football, football, football. We can meet for a long period of time, we can get out here and practice for a long period of time and if we do a good job of following the schedule, an important part of that is getting sleep, you'll be okay."
Fritz discussed the fast tempo at which the Eagles are practicing, noting that they are getting "as many plays off in 20 minutes as we used to get in 40 minutes." That tempo, as well as the bigger, stronger, faster, student-athletes, requires that the coaches back off of the actual practice time, especially on a day like Tuesday. Fritz said the kids are "as tough as can be, but you have to pay attention to keeping them healthy." He made notes on possibly altering practice based on what the Eagles did previously and what needs more work.
Thursday's scheduled two-a-day, the second of three for the Eagles, will be nearly identical in terms of emphasis. Both Wednesday and Friday will be single practice days at the Eagle Creek practice complex with 8:15 a.m. start times. The first full-pads practice, and the first scrimmage for Georgia Southern, will be Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Paulson Stadium.
NAP TIME
With a three-hour break between practices and meetings, Coach Willie Fritz and the assistant coaches encourage their student-athletes to "go take a nap."
STATESBORO SUMMER WEATHER RETURNS
Temperatures topped 90 degrees today in Statesboro, the first time since the start of preseason the sun had been visible throughout the entire practice.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN SAVANNAH ALUMNI BUSINESS LUNCHEON
New Georgia Southern Football Coach Willie Fritz will be the featured speaker on Wednesday, August 20th, at the Georgia Southern Savannah Business Luncheon. Held at the Johnny Harris Banquet Facility at 1651 E. Victory Drive in Savannah, the gathering features a tasty buffet and a preview of the 2014 Eagle Football team from Coach Fritz.
Fritz begins his first season with Georgia Southern and 22nd as a head coach this fall. The Eagles open the season just 10 days later at N.C. State on August 30th.
Serving lines for the Savannah Business Luncheon open at 11:45 a.m. with the program beginning at 12:20 p.m. and concluding at 1 p.m. The cost of the luncheon is $10 which includes buffet, sweet tea, tax and gratuity. For more information or to RSVP, contact Laney Claxton at EagleFan78@yahoo.com.
Fans, friends and alumni are always welcome to attend the Savannah Business Luncheon, however, due to NCAA regulations, bringing students in grades 9-12 to this month's event is not encouraged.
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/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA.
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