North Carolina State University Athletics
Football Preseason Diary, Day Four
8/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 10, 2001
I've been told that I spend a little too much time in my diary talking about the heat - so I won't even mention how hot it was this afternoon when the players did their running test! The team divided into three groups. Group one was skill players, group two was quarterbacks, running backs, linebackers and tight ends and group three was all the big fellas. Group one had to make their 110-meter runs in 15 seconds, group two in 16 seconds and group three in 18 seconds. And they all ran 16 of them!
The difference in the physical conditioning of our guys is night and day from last year. When the big guys run, there aren't a bunch of fat bellies out there. Even our linemen are looking lean and mean. As a relatively uninformed bystander, I thought all of the players looked like they were in pretty good condition, but several players really stood out. Terrence Holt won almost all of the 16 sprints the skill guys ran (although Bryan Peterson sprinted way out ahead and won the final one). Ray Robinson was also running pretty strong in that group. Brian Jamison and Levar Fisher sprinted out to victory in the final run of group two, while Corey Smith, Shane Riggs and Sean Locklear looked pretty strong among the big guys. Smith looked like he was just striding, even after 10 or 11 go-rounds.
Coach Amato seemed pretty pleased with the team's efforts, especially considering that one thing that I promised I was going to write about today!
This morning, the entire team met with a bunch of folks from the university and the athletic department. I'm sure the coaching staff is glad to have all that housekeeping behind them so that they can think about nothing but football from here on out! Two-a-days start in earnest tomorrow morning.
