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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: Update - First Practice at Stadium
8/16/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com is providing 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 preseason 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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Update - 9 p.m.
Mother Nature will be an integral part of the experience at TCF Bank Stadium and she reminded the Golden Gophers of that as Saturday's second practice came to an end. Just as the team began its cool-down stretching at midfield, the rain that threatened during most of the 1-hour, 45-minute practice finally came.
And Gopher head coach Tim Brewster loved it.
"I think it's a great sign that it's raining," Brewster said. "I love the fact that it's raining right now. We're playing outdoor football, in the elements -- in the rain -- and that's exciting for our football team."
The Gophers worked out in shells this afternoon after back-to-back full-pad practices Friday evening and Saturday morning. Brewster was happy with his squad's performance in the practice.
"I thought we had a good practice in here," Brewster said. "Obviously, it was very spirited. It's emotional for everybody who walks in here and understands what it means to be a Minnesota Golden Gopher. It's very special."
Following the practice, the entire team got to take a look at the locker room, which now has art work featuring numerous past Gopher greats above each locker.
Following practice, Coach Brewster urged the Gophers to respect and protect their new house. That message hit home quickly. It took less than a minute or two once the team entered the locker room for them to decide that nobody should be allowed to step on the huge Block M on the floor in the center of the room.
The Gophers were 100-percent smiles in the locker room. I even heard one student-athlete shouting across the room that he "ain't leaving." Despite the earlier proclamation, the entire team eventually did get back on the bus and headed back to the Gibson-Nagurski Complex for dinner.
But before they left, we got a chance to talk with wide receiver Ben Kuznia about what it means for him to be able to finally get on the field at TCF Bank Stadium with the rest of his team. He said it was extra special being a senior and being from the State of Minnesota.
"It was something special," Kuznia said. "It was a great feeling. Football's back on campus. Our first practice (in the stadium) went well. High-energy, high-tempo. It was a lot of fun."
See footage of the team working out in TCF Bank Stadium and hear more comments from Coach Brewster and Kuznia in the video below.
The Gophers will be back in TCF Bank Stadium Sunday morning for Photo/Media Day. The squad will then practice later in the afternoon at the Gibson-Nagurski Complex.
-Andy Seeley
4:30 p.m.
Greetings from high above the TCF Bank Stadium playing surface. It’s 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and I’m writing this blog entry in the press box watching the Golden Gophers go through their afternoon practice, which just happens to be the first-ever full team workout in the new facility.
There was a tangible excitement level as the minutes leading up to this afternoon’s practice slowly ticked by. Normally, the sixth practice of camp and the second of the first two-a-day might have a tendency to drag. But being in The Bank -- or is it The Vault? -- has definitely given everyone a bit of a lift.
“It’s going to be a special afternoon for all of us,” head coach Tim Brewster said. “We’re going over to our home. There is a feeling of excitement for both the coaches and the players. This will be a real fun opportunity for us to get over there and visit our new home.”
Speaking of The Bank or The Vault, those are the two main names I’ve heard bantered about for a nickname for TCF Bank Stadium. I’d like to take an informal survey of my readership. If you would like to vote for the nickname you prefer, please drop me an email with your preference and why. I’ll compile the results next week and we’ll do a blog entry with the results of our unscientific poll and some of the best comments. It won’t lead to an official nickname or anything, but I’d like to get a pulse of the Gopher fans reading this blog.
We’ll add another report from this afternoon’s practice later this evening. Check back here at GopherSports.com after dinner or before you head off to bed.
This morning, the Gophers went through a two-hour, 15-minute practice in full pads, just more than 12 hours after their first full-pad practice of camp. For back-to-back, live contact practices in heat and humidity, things went pretty well this morning.
“We were very demanding of them last night and very demanding again this morning,” Brewster said. “I thought the players responded well.”
Senior captain Simoni Lawrence agreed with Coach Brewster’s assessment. He even used the word “fun” to describe this morning’s workout.
“It was really fun,” Lawrence said. “Everybody was flying around. There is great competition going on all over the board. It’s just fun competing with everybody, because there is a lot of talent out on the field.”
See the video below for more of Simoni’s thoughts on practice this morning and where the defensive and offensive units are roughly one week into preseason camp.
Remember, we’ll have more from Minnesota’s first official, full-team event at TCF Bank Stadium later in the evening here at GopherSports.com.
-Andy Seeley
