The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
First Full Pads Practice In Books For UAB
8/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2005
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The UAB football team completed its first practice in full pads Wednesday morning as Watson Brown's club continued preparation for the 2005 gridiron season. The Blazers open against SEC foe Tennessee at 12:30 p.m. ET/11:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Sept. 3 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
"Well, nobody got hurt," Brown told reporters afterward. "It went well. We're a long ways away because we're putting a lot in on (the players). We do it a little different here - we kind of put everything in quick and then go back and start honing things down as we go. I'm not real thrilled right now on the way the team parts of it look, but we're still studying our individuals hard and watching our twos and threes. You're only as good as your second and third teams."
The Blazers practiced for just over two hours on a hot and humid Wednesday morning. The temperature reached the mid-80s with a 75-percent humidity during the workout.
"I don't know that a coach likes it any more than the players," Brown said. "There's no way to make them fun. It's work. You've got to get in pad condition and you've got to get used to the heat and there's only one way to do that and that's get out in it."
Brown added that the mid-day Tennessee kickoff means the Blazers are getting valuable conditioning experience relative to the likely playing conditions for their 2005 debut.
The Tennessee game will be televised throughout the Southeastern United States by Jefferson Pilot Sports.
Brown and the Blazers return to the practice field on Thursday for their first two-a-day workout. After a single practice on Friday, the squad has its first intra-squad scrimmage slated for 11:30 a.m. CT on Saturday.
