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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: Practice No. 1 In the Books
8/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com will provide a daily blog from the beginning of fall camp until the week of the season-opener at Syracuse, set for Sept. 5. Check back here often for updates from throughout preseason camp. Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley will be penning most of these blogs. If you would like to ask a question about fall camp, have a request for something you’d like to see in the blog or just a comment on the blog, feel free to send Andy an e-mail at aseeley@umn.edu.
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The first Golden Gopher football practice of 2009 is officially in the books. Following the workout, head coach Tim Brewster told his team that it was a good first day of work, encouraging them to improve every day during practice.
Following the workout, there was a heavy media turnout waiting to speak with Coach Brewster and some of the players. In fact, as this blog is being written, it is nearly 10 p.m. Part of that is due to the amount of interviews we had to facilitate for Coach Brewster and the Gophers following practice. The last interview didn’t wrap up until nearly 8 p.m.
Brewster told the media he was happy with the team’s effort and attitude on the first day.
“It was great,” Brewster said. “It’s great to be out there with this group of guys, because they have worked so hard in their preparation. Everybody was so anxious to get back out on the field today. It was just good to be out there with this group of guys.”
Brewster was especially pleased with the amount of carryover the team had from spring ball.
“I was really pleased with the retention that we had from our installation in the spring,” the third-year head coach said. “We practiced like a team that had been out there for a while and that was good to see.”
To hear more from Coach Brewster, go to the video below where a number of sound-bytes from Coach Brewster’s meeting can be seen at the end.
Practice highlights/notes:
- I heard a handful of people at practice today remark on how much more athletic this team looks than any they had seen on the Gopher practice fields in quite some time. That speaks volumes about the recruiting this coaching staff is doing and the work that the strength and conditioning staff is doing.
- Defensive play of the day: Sophomore safety Mike Rallis took an interception back for a touchdown during the team drills (full offense vs. full defense).
- Offensive play of the day: No big surprise here. Adam Weber hits Eric Decker for a long completion. Decker was in traffic, but Weber put the ball where only Decker could make the play. Decker then went high in the air and pulled it down.
- Honorable mention: I’m going to give Weber and Nick Tow-Arnett honorable mention in the offensive play of the day category for a pass connection they had during seven-on-seven drills. Weber hit the big tight end in stride as he got some separation from the linebacker covering him. Had this play been in team drills, it would have been another big gainer.
The NCAA only allows college football teams to practice in helmets for the first two days. Therefore tomorrow afternoon’s practice will probably be similar to todays. Wednesday will see the first pads popping, as shoulder pads and helmets are allowed in the third and fourth practices. Friday will be the first full-pad, full-contact practice of camp.
-Andy Seeley
