The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Blazers Battle Heat, Inclement Weather During Tuesday's Practice
8/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 15, 2006
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ----- The UAB football team continued its two-a-days, with a pair of practices on Tuesday. The Blazers went with a full pad outdoor practice in the morning; however, due to bad weather, the team was forced to move the late afternoon practice inside. Head coach Watson Brown considered Wednesday's practice to be one of the better practices in the preseason.
"It was a good day today," Brown said. "This is how a team gets in condition right here. You have to push yourself and you got to go hard. You can't just get in condition by running. You have to put the pads on and be able to get off the block and push yourself. This was a conditioning day and that's why I loved it."
With the temperatures reaching the mid 90s throughout the morning practice, Brown pushed the team hard and was happy with the result. He felt a few players still needed to get in better shape, but for the most part, the Blazers responded to his demands.
"Our lineman have the biggest bodies out here and they are probably going to be the most tired at the end of the day," Brown said. "They have got to learn to fight through that and that's part of football. You are either going to win a game, especially in our league, in the fourth quarter and to me, these types of practices is the fourth quarter.
"I saw some guys that need to learn to fight through it better and a whole bunch that I felt fought through it well," Brown continued. "It's not just that what I saw was good, it was putting them in that type of situation and I think they need that. You can't learn to fight through unless you are challenged to do it before you get to Saturday. I am a firm believer in toughness is earned, not given."
The afternoon session lasted for just over an hour, with the offense working in one area and the defense working in the other.
Though the hot temperatures are expected to continue, Brown does not see himself letting up on his football team.
"Absolutely, we are going to do this same thing tomorrow," Brown said. "We are going to do this all week and hopefully by the end of it, they are going to be in a lot better shape than they were at the start of the week."
The Blazers will open the 2006 campaign in Norman, Okla., where they will do battle with the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Sept. 2. It will mark the second consecutive season and third time over the last four years that UAB will square-off against a top-five opponent. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will be televised nationally on TBS.
The radio coverage can be heard on the Blazers ISP Sports Network, beginning at 4:30 p.m. CST. Birmingham listeners can follow all the action on WYDE 101.1 FM, and WIQR 1410 AM in Montgomery.
