Central Michigan University Athletics
Chippewas Pull On Pads for First Time
8/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
MOUNT PLEASANT The Central Michigan University football team pulled on the pads for the first time Friday afternoon, but first-year head coach Butch Jones did not see all that he hoped for prior to the team’s first full-contact practice Saturday night.
“I was really disappointed today,” Jones said. “Today was our first day in pads, the heat was turned up a little, and I didn’t think we came with the mentality to be physical, which is the foundation of our program. We had no passion to run the football, either on our offensive line or with our backs, and our linemen are not going to just sit back in pass protection on every down. We didn’t have a physical mentality on defense, either.”
The Chippewas will be back on the practice field for the first of two practices Saturday morning. The second workout of the day will feature a live situational scrimmage.
“It will be interesting to see how we come back tomorrow during our first two-a-day,” Jones said. “Everything we do is based on creating competition and chaotic situations, and today we did not respond well. Overall it was not a very productive day, and we have a lot of areas in which to improve.”
CMU closed Friday’s practice with a session that saw the offense start eight drives 35 yards from the end zone. The defense recorded stops on the first two and held the offense to field goals on the next two possessions before the offense posted four consecutive touchdowns. Included in the spurt were a 2-yard touchdown run by Marcel Archer and a 35-yard pass from Dan LeFevour to Justin Gardner on back-to-back snaps.
“The purpose of that drill is to teach about finishing, learning to play when you’re tired and overcoming mistakes and adversity,” Jones said. “We’re still trying to develop that mental makeup that we talk about all the time. Today it snowballed a little bit on our defense and they had a hard time recovering.”
The Chippewas practiced on the FieldTurf in Kelly/Shorts Stadium for a fifth consecutive day Friday. Jones cited nothing more than personal preference for holding practices in the stadium; CMU, by the way, is slated to play 10 of its 12 regular season games on artificial surfaces in 2007.
“I like the surface in here,” Jones said. “I like the surroundings. Once we get into two-a-days, we’ll practice on the grass as well and utilize both fields.”
Following Saturday’s two-a-day, the players are free from on-field activities Sunday. A single practice is scheduled for Monday, with the preseason’s second two-a-day slated for Tuesday.
“I was really disappointed today,” Jones said. “Today was our first day in pads, the heat was turned up a little, and I didn’t think we came with the mentality to be physical, which is the foundation of our program. We had no passion to run the football, either on our offensive line or with our backs, and our linemen are not going to just sit back in pass protection on every down. We didn’t have a physical mentality on defense, either.”
The Chippewas will be back on the practice field for the first of two practices Saturday morning. The second workout of the day will feature a live situational scrimmage.
“It will be interesting to see how we come back tomorrow during our first two-a-day,” Jones said. “Everything we do is based on creating competition and chaotic situations, and today we did not respond well. Overall it was not a very productive day, and we have a lot of areas in which to improve.”
CMU closed Friday’s practice with a session that saw the offense start eight drives 35 yards from the end zone. The defense recorded stops on the first two and held the offense to field goals on the next two possessions before the offense posted four consecutive touchdowns. Included in the spurt were a 2-yard touchdown run by Marcel Archer and a 35-yard pass from Dan LeFevour to Justin Gardner on back-to-back snaps.
“The purpose of that drill is to teach about finishing, learning to play when you’re tired and overcoming mistakes and adversity,” Jones said. “We’re still trying to develop that mental makeup that we talk about all the time. Today it snowballed a little bit on our defense and they had a hard time recovering.”
The Chippewas practiced on the FieldTurf in Kelly/Shorts Stadium for a fifth consecutive day Friday. Jones cited nothing more than personal preference for holding practices in the stadium; CMU, by the way, is slated to play 10 of its 12 regular season games on artificial surfaces in 2007.
“I like the surface in here,” Jones said. “I like the surroundings. Once we get into two-a-days, we’ll practice on the grass as well and utilize both fields.”
Following Saturday’s two-a-day, the players are free from on-field activities Sunday. A single practice is scheduled for Monday, with the preseason’s second two-a-day slated for Tuesday.
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