North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Quotes From First Day of Football Practice
8/5/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 5, 2003
Quotes From First Day of Football Practice
"It was good. We tested them in the 110s (running test) and they sailed through that. There were a couple that didn't make it, some big guys, but they were so much improved. Maybe we'll have to get a tougher test, I don't know. They really did good on that and practice went well."
On receiver Fred Span leaving practice early:
"Fred Span didn't cramp, he didn't fall out and he didn't faint. He was feeling a little woozy and we tell our players that if they don't feel good to go get a trainer. That's what our doctors were saying last night when they gave a seminar on heat. He didn't feel good and went and saw a trainer. We've got a couple of ice tubs over there that we stick them in. A few minutes after he was in there his temperature was down and his blood pressure was fine."
On practicing without pads until this weekend:
"I thought they worked good. We do an awful lot without pads on. Our kids are really learning how to practice that way. The more we can practice without pads on the less we have to use them, which is good at this time of the year."
On high expectations for the season:
"It's simple: we're going to get ourselves ready during this period so that we can play our first opponent, which is Western Carolina. For your knowledge, that's the only team that [the players] are going to answer questions about. They'll talk about practice, they'll talk about themselves, but the only opponent they'll talk about is Western Carolina because that's the only one we're concerned about right now. It's going to be a learning experience for them. The limelight is there because of the expectations so what are we going to do? We've got to learn how to accept that kind of a challenge and worry about getting ourselves better in two-a-days and then work like mad to get ready for Western Carolina."
On practicing separately with the freshmen earlier in the day:
"What we did today is that we actually practiced the freshmen in the morning. They could only practice them one time so we practiced them this morning. We tested them in a few things and then we brought them out they did about an hour and ? practice. They had meetings this afternoon and we wanted them to see how we wanted them to practice. They got a little bit of a taste."
Comments from senior quarterback Philip Rivers
"It was a good first day of practice. You know, you start off with the conditioning test, so you have a chance to lose some intensity and guys are tired, but I thought we kept the intensity up for the most part. It was a good first day."
