Bears Conclude Fall Camp
8/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 19, 2006
Coach Guy Morriss' Baylor football team concluded fall camp with a special teams practice Saturday evening on the Floyd Casey Stadium turf. Earlier in the day, the team greeted fans as part of the program's annual "Meet the Bears" Day activities.
"We got a lot of work done (during fall camp), but we still have some things that to finish up," said Morriss. "The good thing about it is that we are still two weeks out. But, overall, I thought we had a good camp. I was really happy with the tempo and the conditioning level of the kids. There was good carryover from the spring and other than the injury factor, everything was good."
Morriss said his biggest concern over the next two weeks in preparation for the Sept. 3 season-opener against No. 22 TCU was identifying a No. 2 quarterback behind fifth-year senior starter Shawn Bell. Redshirt freshman Blake Szymanski and sophomore Jason Lovvorn, neither of whom have taken a snap in a college game, are vying for the job.
"We have to settle in and decide on a back-up quarterback," Morriss said. "I think that is still kind of up for grabs. We'll wait for one guy to lay claim to it and no one has done that yet. That is a major concern at this point.
"Blake (Szymanski) looked pretty good last night," he added. "It is just a matter of getting one of them to be more consistent."
Senior defensive end Julian Hill (sore knee), senior offensive tackle Travis Farst (knee), freshman offensive lineman Dylan Hagens (sore back), senior linebacker Paul Howard (knee), junior cornerback Braelon Davis (sore knee), senior offensive guard Will Blaylock (muscle strain) and preseason All-America punter Daniel Sepulveda (knee) all were sidelined Saturday, but Morriss expects nearly everyone to be near full-speed when the team returns to practice Monday evening. He also believes that most of the players who have been limited to non-contact work will be cleared by team doctors for more activity next week.
After 16 consecutive practices, the Bears will take tomorrow off, start class on Monday and return to the practice field with a 6 p.m. evening workout before returning to their in-season after routine on Tuesday.
Notes: Morriss is slated to make two public appearances next week ... He'll speak Tuesday at the Baylor Sports Network of Houston starting at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Houston Post Oak (2201 Post Oak Blvd.) and Thursday at the 18th annual Waco Chamber of Commerce Kickoff Luncheon ... Tickets to the Houston event may be purchased by contacting the Baylor Network, while the Waco Chamber is handling sales for the Aug. 24 event ... The featured speaker at the Waco Chamber luncheon is former Houston Oilers head coach Bum Phillips, the grandfather of Bears' first-year quarterbacks coach Wes Phillips.
