Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Day Four of training camp finds Football in a groove
08/13/2009 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 13, 2009
By Adam Longueville
www.SIUSalukis.com
Daily Camp Blog -- Daily Photo Gallery
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Under sunny skies and pleasant temperatures at the grass practice fields, the Salukis conducted their fourth practice of training camp Thursday. Tomorrow will mark the team's first day in full pads.
Q & A with Dale Lennon You just had your fourth practice, are the Players and Staff settling into a good routine?
We're in a great routine. It's very important in pre-fall camp. We're just trying to get a feel for what's going to happen day to day, period to period. And right now, I think we're in a great routine.
You have 10 starters back on defense, including some elite players, do you believe that they will be a dominant unit this year?
Well dominant is a term that they have to earn. The potential is there, but that will only get you so far. We've got to see on game day how good we actually are.
There are several transfers on the roster. Robert Spann, Brad Briggs, and Kyle Russo are just a few. How have they looked thus far in camp?
They've looked good, but the biggest thing for those guys is learning the package. Because of that, they may be a step off here and there, but that will come along as camp advances.
Chris Dieker is your returning starting quarterback, but Paul McIntosh had a great spring game and has looked impressive so far in camp. Can he challenge Chris for the starting spot?
Well, Paul is very capable, as is Bobby Brenneisen. He came in to camp with much better arm strength than we had seen earlier from him. I think we have two very capable quarterbacks behind Chris, who could step in at any time.
Are there any team-building activities that you like to implement during training camp?
Well, we had a little scuffle today, but the thing I look for is that we separated them quickly. Right away, the players got in between them and broke it up. And after that, they were done with it. No one took it personally. They patted themselves on the jersey later, and it was over. That's something, as far as team building, that the team can see on a daily basis.
