Southern Illinoise University Athletics
First day of full pads for Football on Friday
08/14/2009 | 12:00:00 | Football
Aug. 14, 2009
By Adam Longueville
www.SIUSalukis.com
Daily Camp Blog -- Daily Photo Gallery
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Friday marked the first day of full pads for the Saluki Football team on a warm, sunny day on the grass practice fields.
Today was the first day of full pads in practice. How did the transition go from yesterday?
Putting the full pads on is an exciting thing, but what hindered us today was probably the installation. We had a few more mistakes offensively and defensively. Making our execution more solid is our focus for the next few days.
Chris Dieker, Brandon Williams and Ryan Kernes have all missed some time due to various ailments. Is there any update on their condition?
The guys that have been mending themselves have been coming along very well. In fact, they might be ahead of schedule, so there is definitely reason for encouragement in their progression.
The players seem to be in great shape. Did they do anything special in their weightlifting and conditioning routine with Coach Nessland this offseason?
I think our offseason program is pretty good. Coach Nessland does a great job in preparing the athletes for the season. One thing that's changed in weight training is that it's not about how much you can bench or squat; it's more about developing athletes, and that's where I see it carry over to conditioning.
Your coaching staff is unique in the fact that it really doesn't have a designated Special teams coach. Do you find that there is a particular advantage in having all the coaches have an area to focus upon on special teams?
Well some programs just run their special teams out there just to do it. We want to make sure we don't overlook any details, so that's why we make special assignments within our staff. And hopefully because of that, everyone knows what they need to be doing.
Are there any members on the offensive line that have stood out to you thus far in training camp?
We're making progress with the offensive line. Sunday, we'll go live and that's where you can really measure progress. It's tough to just look at drills and see who is really performing. You can't really make a good evaluation until you watch them live. So, we'll see in a few days.
