North Carolina State University Athletics
Football Preseason Diary, Day Five
8/11/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 11, 2001
Well, the first team practice has officially taken place. It was great when my alarm went off this morning at 7:00 a.m. (this IS a Saturday!). When I arrived at the field at 8:20, most of the team was already out, warming up with their position coaches. When Coach Amato blew the whistle for flex at 8:35, everybody was ready to go.
The two-hour practice was intense and spirited and Coach said afterwards that he was pleased with the team's efforts and conditioning. Philip Rivers said that he can really tell the difference in the attitude between this year and last year. Philip was the last guy off the field today, which reminds me of a former Wolfpack player who was a senior my first year here. That player, who wore number-81 and is now starring for the St. Louis Rams, was always the last guy to finish a workout, and today, there was number-17, doing that one extra drill long after the rest of the team was gone. The bad thing about it for me is that there is always a pack of media waiting to interview him, so Torry and Phil's work ethics have meant longer hours for yours truly!
There was some live scrimmaging between the offense and defense today, which is when you can really start telling who is standing out. There is no contact yet (full pads begin next week), but it's still pretty physical out there. It's great to see Keegan Weir back on the field, snapping that ball. What a great attitude that young man has after breaking his leg in back-to-back years, and then still coming back focused on winning.
The guys will get a little bit of a break this afternoon and will be back on the field this evening. Tomorrow, there's no practice, as we have pictures and media day in the morning (after the guys have a worship service) and then Meet the Pack Day and the Day of Champions in the afternoon. All Pack fans need to pray for sunshine! I've got about four million photos that need to be taken. If it rains tomorrow, that might be the end of this diary because I might run away!
See you at the ESA tomorrow. The doors open at 2:00.
