North Carolina State University Athletics
Football Preseason Diary, Day One
8/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 7, 2001
Raleigh, NC - Well, it's depressing and exciting at the same time. The sound of cleats clomping and whistles blowing means that my summer is officially over. Trips to the practice field instead of trips to the beach and instead of sand in my flip-flops, I've got turf in my tennis shoes. Oh well, I wouldn't have it any other way. And by the way, I wish someone would tell Mother Nature that summer is over, because she seems to think its in full swing - I think today was the hottest day of the year so far! The rookies took two breaks during this afternoon's practice, but they all seemed to be in pretty good shape. There were a couple of large fans under tents on the practice field and believe me, the players weren't the only ones taking advantage of them!
It's great to begin fall camp and already know so many of the new players. Most of our freshmen and all of our transfers have been around this summer, so it was much easier to point people out to the media who attended practice this afternoon. It also means there aren't as many homesick faces around as in years past - they got over that for the most part already. When they ran on the field this afternoon, they looked like confident veterans - and not just because they've been around this summer. I think this is a pretty confident group of young men.
Coach Amato said after practice that he's very pleased with the conditioning of these young guys after all the hard work they've put in this summer. He said that it helped them to be around the heat, but it helped even more for them to be around the intensity.
It seems like such a small group when the vets aren't around - just 31 players. There were several of our older guys out there this afternoon, though, making the most of their veteran status by standing on the sidelines and checking out the new kids. Philip Rivers was coaching the rookie quarterbacks, Jay Davis and walk-on Chris Young. I called him on his cell phone from the sidelines, and he told me that I was breaking his concentration - he was trying to coach!!! And believe me, Levar Fisher had plenty to say about the new crop of linebackers.Terrence Holt, Brian Williams, Bryan Peterson, Jerricho Cotchery, J.J. Jones, Ricky Fowler, Brandon Mooore, Rod Johnson and several other returning players were out as well.
The rookies went out for over an hour this morning, basically just learning where to run when the whistles blow. Coach Amato's practices are as structured as any I've ever been around - the schedule is tight and every drill and every position has an assigned spot. I think he really gets the most out of his allotted practice time this way, but it's a lot for the new guys to learn. This afternoon, they did some one-on-one drills, but mostly work with their position coaches. Of course, they're just in shorts and shoulder pads right now, so there's no contact.
Most of the area media was at practice this afternoon, including four daily papers, the school paper, the Wolfpacker and four television stations. Watch for the coverage tonight and tomorrow. The rookies will probably be asleep by then - curfew is at 11:00 p.m!
