Baylor Opens Spring Practice With "Good Day"
3/19/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 19, 2003
Waco, Texas - After three months of orienting themselves to their new surroundings, Baylor's new football coaching staff finally stepped onto the practice fields adjacent to Floyd Casey Stadium Wednesday afternoon as the Bears opened spring practice with a two and a half hour workout.
Approximately 150 onlookers, including several high school coaches, watched as head coach Guy Morriss began to put his stamp on the Baylor football program.
"I thought overall it was a good day," Morriss said. "We got a lot done. We talked to them about tempo and rhythm. I think we can improve there. They've got to understand the tempo of a ballgame. That's the way we want them to practice.
"The defense caught three or four times still coming out of huddle when the offensive line was at the line of scrimmage. Two or three times we had to stop and find a running back, a wideout, that sort of stuff. They have to pay attention to personnel groupings. We shuffle a lot of people in and out of a ballgame and the players have to be attuned to the coaches and understand that the game is played fast and we have to practice a little faster."
Morriss announced his decision to hold seven players - RB Rashad Armstrong, DL Corey Ford, OL Jacob Pittman, WR Charles Radford, WR J.T. Thompson, LB James Washington and TE Iris Williams - out of practice for a couple weeks due to academic problems.
"We could use all seven guys," Morriss said, "but they have to understand that they have to fulfill their academic responsibility also. I thought it would be better on their behalf to give them some extra study hall time and see if could help them get back on track academically.
"We'll hold those seven for two weeks and then re-evaluate them from there and see if we can get their attention and get them moving in a positive direction."
Two other players, redshirt freshmen TE Justin MacGibbon and LB Nathan Uranga, have left the team for personal reasons and will not return.
The Bears will conduct the second of their 15 NCAA-allowed spring practices Thursday at 3 p.m. The first day in pads will be Saturday at 10 a.m. All workouts are open to the public.
"It's the first day and everyone is excited," Morriss said. "It's all new and fresh. The players have to keep that same attitude and temp through the whole spring. We only have 14 more opportunities to get better and we can't waste a minute of that time."
