Bears Begin Fall Drills
8/9/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2004
2004 Fall Camp Roster
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Near perfect conditions greeted the Baylor football team Monday afternoon as second-year coach Guy Morriss' 2004 Bears began fall camp with a two-hour workout in helmets and shorts on the Floyd Casey Stadium practice fields. "I was pleased with their effort today," said Morriss, whose team opens its season Sept. 4 at UAB. "They understand our system, are more comfortable with the coaches and are moving around better out there. "Some of the young guys, because they haven't been with us, are finding out what the tempo is like in the Big 12 and the conditioning level at which you have to be at," he added. "But, that's to be expected with the new players." The Bears' 105-man camp roster includes 27 student-athletes who practiced Monday for the first time in Green and Gold. Included in that group of newcomers are three Division I-A transfers--sophomore defensive end Paul Howard (Denison, Texas), sophomore tight end Jordan Adams (Arlington, Texas) and junior offensive lineman Will Blaylock (Tyler, Texas). Howard, who joined the BU program after serving a four-year commitment in the U.S. Army, will be eligible to play for the Bears in 2004. He spent two years at Texas Tech before joining the Army. Adams, a New Mexico transfer, and Blaylock, a transfer from Tulane, both must sit out the 2004 campaign per NCAA transfer rules. "A lot of those guys that we redshirted last year will be playing this year and there are probably a few (true) freshmen that are going to step on the field," Morriss said. "We feel that out of those last two classes, we have a lot of good athletes in both groups." Baylor sophomore right offensive tackle Nick Pace (Katy, Texas), who started all 12 games for the Bears as a true freshman in 2003, has not recovered from off-season surgery and will be forced to take a redshirt year in 2004, Morriss said following Monday's workout. "Nick (Pace) may have been our best lineman last year as a true freshman and we are going to miss him," Morriss said. "With Nick not in the line-up, that could hurt us pretty good. But, someone is just going to have to step up, pick up the slack and win the job." The Bears will return to work Tuesday with another two-hour practice starting at 4 p.m. at Floyd Casey Stadium. All practices are open to the public. "We always work with a good tempo," Morriss said of his fall camp practice plans. "We as coaches have to walk that fine line (in terms of tempo). We don't want to wear them down too early and we don't want to get them beat up with too much hitting."
