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University of Minnesota Athletics
Bowl Blog: Snappy Sunday Workout
12/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
After a physical workout Saturday, the University of Minnesota football team spent Sunday's practice refining the game plan for Thursday's Insight Bowl matchup with Iowa State. The Gophers went through their paces in an up-tempo, two-hour session at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Gopher head coach Tim Brewster was pleased with the work his squad put in on Sunday.
"It was a good, crisp workout," Brewster said. "I thought the guys flew around, they practiced well. Again, it's another opportunity to improve our football team and I thought that our preparation so far has been excellent. We've got three practices left that we've got to continue to improve."
Center D.J. Burris said the practice today was all about tempo for the offensive unit.
"It's good," Burris said in regard to the state of the offense. "Yesterday was a little more physical. Today it was just kind of getting down your technique and playing fast."
The Gophers have had nothing but glowing praise for the Insight Bowl staff and the amenities afforded the team, including the Hyatt Scottsdale at Gainey Ranch, which is serving as the team's headquarters.
"The hotel is phenomenal," Burris said. "We couldn't even ask for a better hotel. It's awesome."
"John Junker and the Insight Bowl people do a fantastic job," Brewster said. "We're staying in a first-class hotel. The operation here at Desert Mountain High School is outstanding. It's been a great trip."
In addition to Sunday's practice session, the highlight of the day for the Gopher players was a trip to Castles and Coasters in Phoenix for an activity with the Phoenix chapter of the HopeKids. The Golden Gopher football team has been working with HopeKids for a number of years in Minneapolis and this is the second consecutive year that the squad has met up with the local HopeKids group for an outing at the amusement park.
"That's really important to me -- and it's really important to our program -- that we help some less fortunate young people, some kids that are sick," Brewster said. "If we can put a smile on a young person's face this afternoon, it's going to make the whole trip worthwhile."
There were definitely smiles on a ton of young kids' faces at Castles and Coasters late Sunday afternoon when the Gophers arrived. The team spent two hours with nearly 60 families and more than 200 people from the HopeKids organization.
We'll have a full report with plenty of photos and video from Sunday's event with the HopeKids here at GopherSports.com on Monday.
-Andy Seeley
