Bears Begin 2006 Journey
8/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 4, 2006
The Baylor football team opened fall camp Friday evening with an energized two-hour and 30-minute workout on the Floyd Casey Stadium grass practice fields.
"We were pleased with the effort we got," said fourth-year head coach Guy Morriss. "There was a lot of good recall from the spring and the kids were excited. The energy level was up, which we like to see. There has to be a focus from this point forward until we play TCU to polish up the details. They know the basics, but we have to get a handle on the details. If we can do that, we are going have a pretty good football team.
"I thought all of the work that they've done this summer has paid dividends for them," he added. "They were moving better today, flying to the football and the energy was up. It has been getting better every year, but this is the best we've seen since we've been here as a staff."
With much of the team in the final days of summer school, the Bears utilized Friday morning for position meetings, then came back in the afternoon with another round of meetings before hitting the field in helmets and shorts Friday evenings. Unlike Morriss' first three seasons, Baylor will workout once daily rather than conducting any two-a-day practice sessions.
"I felt that moving the schedule would really help us, and I thought it did tonight," said Morriss. "We were pretty fresh at the end of practice. It was the first day of practice, so we'll see how it takes its toll on them. Probably when we start hitting, we'll have to shave some time after it, as two-and-a-half hours might be a little bit long."
Baylor will return to the practice field on Saturday at 6 p.m. with the team's first workout in pads set for Aug. 8.
Notes: The funeral for former Baylor assistant football coach Tom Adams will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 5, at Waco's OakCrest Funeral Home ... Adams, a member of Morriss' Baylor staff in 2003 and 2004, passed away from cancer on Aug. 2 at his Waco home ... Baylor will hold its annual Meet the Bears Day on Saturday, Aug. 19, at 4 p.m. in Floyd Casey Stadium prior to the Bears' final practice of fall camp at 6 p.m. ... The Bears open the 2006 season Sept. 3 at home against TCU, which was ranked No. 21 in the preseason USA Today/ESPN coaches poll released today ... Baylor will open the season against a nationally rated opponent for the first time since the 1997 season when it dropped a 45-14 decision to No. 13 Miami, Fla., in Waco ... Season and single-game tickets for Baylor's seven-game 2006 home schedule are on sale through the Athletic Ticket Office or on-line 24 hours a day at www.baylorbears.com
