Gearing up: Two-a-day practices–Audio
Garden City, Kan (westernkansasnews.com)-No player in their right mind enjoys practicing in triple-digit heat; they might not admit it, but the facts are the facts. But in this part of the country, playing with, not against mother nature is a way of life.
Garden City’s final tuneup session before two-a-day practices begin on Tuesday definitely tested the resolve of this Buster squad.
“We’ve got talent; we’re going to be good,” Head Coach Matt Miller said. “But we have to get tougher; we have to learn to play through some adversity. With the humidity being as high as it was-some guys didn’t; it’s disappointing as a coach, but we’ll get them straight.”
Miller gathered his team following the two-hour practice in the sweltering heat and encouraged them to push through. And truth be told, they will have to with two-a-day sessions from here on out.
Notes: QB Patrick Hoard did not participate in 7-on-7; Miller says he rested the freshman because of soreness in his elbow. The two guys taking all the snaps were Jake Curran (First team) and Akeem Jones (Second team)–Mikail Graice did not take part in 7 on 7 (no specific reason given). Asked if the decision to go with a two-quarterback rotation gave any indication of which way the coach is leaning:
“Not necessarily,” Miller said. “But it did give me some time to watch Jake and “Freak” (Jones) do their thing. Those two are probably ahead of everyone else right now, but it’s way too early to come to a conclusion on the quarterback situation.”
Miller won’t blink, but this much we do know: Both Curran and Jones have been impressive. The freshman one upped the sophomore towards the end of drills with a perfect, play-action-pass down the sideline for a touchdown.
The first-year Head Coach is expected to make his decision before the team scrimmage on August 16. So for now, we can only speculate.
Offensive line notes: A lot of moving parts with the guys that will be protecting whomever wins the starting job. Sophomore Dontavious Blair believes his guys are on the right path.
“We’re just working right now,” Blair said. “Take the coaching and we’ll be great.”
Tuesday’s Schedule
Morning session: 9:15
Evening session: 6:30
Practice Interviews
