Aug. 22, 2007
WACO, Texas -- Baylor's football team practiced in temperatures stretching toward triple digits Wednesday, 10 days shy of the 2007 season opener. Head coach Guy Morriss said the players felt the heat in only their second afternoon practice of the preseason but that they pushed through it pretty well.
"We're more mentally tired than anything right now," Morris said. "Now they're dealing with class again. We're going to push them pretty hard for the next few days. We're only out here for an hour-and-a-half, and I think we're getting pretty good work. We're not keeping them long; but while we're out here, we want them at a high tempo."
Morriss' main concern following Wednesday's practice was consistency - something he said was lacking on the offensive side of the ball.
"We're not where we need to be, but we still have time," Morriss said. "With the quarterbacks, it's a good day and a bad day. Most of the stuff is OK; but the decision making under pressure, we're not as sharp as we need to be just yet."
One area offensively in which Morriss was pleased was the line.
"We protected well," Morriss said. "We're throwing the kitchen sink at them. If we're going to throw the ball, we have to be able to handle the blitz. That's what we've been doing a lot of this week - testing them, putting them in a lot of situations and seeing how they push through it."
Morriss said he has not yet settled on a starting five along the line but that he likes what he has seen to this point.
"We've looked at a lot of combinations, and we're still looking at a lot of guys," he said. "We'll try to go two-deep at each spot. We'll probably settle in (on a starting five) toward the end of this week and definitely by the start of next week. We'll work those five and give them most of the reps."
Baylor conducted walk-on tryouts following practice; nearly 50 potential student-athletes went through the session. Morriss talked about the importance of the walk-on program.
"You gotta have guys to lineup and run the scout teams and those kinds of things," Morriss said. "Every now and then you find a player. The thing about our walk-on program here is that the tuition is prohibitive to the kind of guys we're looking for. But we need bodies out here, and you never know - something might develop. What we need most right now is big guys, and unfortunately that's the fewest that we get out."
Baylor opens its 2007 season Sept. 1 with a 5 p.m. kickoff against 22nd-ranked TCU at Amon Carter Stadium in Fort Worth.
