The reprieve from the heat that the Southern Miss football team received yesterday was short lived as clear skies and high humidity returned to the Joe P. Park Practice Fields today on the Hattiesburg campus.
The Golden Eagles practiced for just short of three hours with a number of breaks in between and Jay Hopson seemed upbeat following the session.
Camp Observations:
- Temps and tempers were high today as the spirited practice had a few scuffles break out including a pretty good one between WR D.J. Thompson and LB D'Nerius Antoine.
- For most of the day it appeared that the defense held the upper hand as pass catchers dropped more balls than you would like to see and a quick defensive line gave the offensive line a lot of things to look at and get better on during the film sessions.
- Defensive ends Paw Paw Thigpen and Darian Yancey had very good days. Both played with a high motor and some great technique giving the Southern Miss OL fists at times today.
- The offense did have a few nice moments in the team sessions as well. Julian Allen continues to impress and caught at 50+ yrd TD pass from Nick Mullens. Marquis Ricard continues to have a solid camp.
- George Payne looks as good, if not better, right now than I have ever seen him. He's show little to no effects from his season ending knee injury a year ago. Expect a big year from him, there's not reason not too.
- Xavier Marion had a nice day today he's competing for a spot in the two-deep depth chart.
- True freshman Quez Watkins continues to impress I will not be shocked to see him in the two-deep depth chart when the season opens. He could be something special at receiver.
- Southern Miss President Dr. Rodney Bennett was out for the majority of practice today. I have seen past USM presidents at football practices before but it's rare.
Locker Room Note:
- Ran into a buddy of mine that works for the HVAC contractor that is putting in the new air units in the field house following interviews. He told me something interesting. The new HVAC system they are putting into the locker rooms state of the art. Said it is the most complex that they have ever installed. The principle behind it is that the air returns are behind the lockers. They are designed to pull all the "stink" as he put it out of the room and the lockers and funnel it outside while bringing in fresh air from the outside. He said this is to not only keep down on the smell but also helps eliminate mold, mildew and brings fresh air in making it harder for germs, viruses and bacteria to grow and multiply like we all know often happens in locker rooms.
The Golden Eagles practiced for just short of three hours with a number of breaks in between and Jay Hopson seemed upbeat following the session.
Camp Observations:
- Temps and tempers were high today as the spirited practice had a few scuffles break out including a pretty good one between WR D.J. Thompson and LB D'Nerius Antoine.
- For most of the day it appeared that the defense held the upper hand as pass catchers dropped more balls than you would like to see and a quick defensive line gave the offensive line a lot of things to look at and get better on during the film sessions.
- Defensive ends Paw Paw Thigpen and Darian Yancey had very good days. Both played with a high motor and some great technique giving the Southern Miss OL fists at times today.
- The offense did have a few nice moments in the team sessions as well. Julian Allen continues to impress and caught at 50+ yrd TD pass from Nick Mullens. Marquis Ricard continues to have a solid camp.
- George Payne looks as good, if not better, right now than I have ever seen him. He's show little to no effects from his season ending knee injury a year ago. Expect a big year from him, there's not reason not too.
- Xavier Marion had a nice day today he's competing for a spot in the two-deep depth chart.
- True freshman Quez Watkins continues to impress I will not be shocked to see him in the two-deep depth chart when the season opens. He could be something special at receiver.
- Southern Miss President Dr. Rodney Bennett was out for the majority of practice today. I have seen past USM presidents at football practices before but it's rare.
Locker Room Note:
- Ran into a buddy of mine that works for the HVAC contractor that is putting in the new air units in the field house following interviews. He told me something interesting. The new HVAC system they are putting into the locker rooms state of the art. Said it is the most complex that they have ever installed. The principle behind it is that the air returns are behind the lockers. They are designed to pull all the "stink" as he put it out of the room and the lockers and funnel it outside while bringing in fresh air from the outside. He said this is to not only keep down on the smell but also helps eliminate mold, mildew and brings fresh air in making it harder for germs, viruses and bacteria to grow and multiply like we all know often happens in locker rooms.
