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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: First Day in Full Pads
8/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com will provide a daily blog from the beginning of preseason traiing camp until the week of the season-opener at Middle Tennessee State, set for Sept. 2. Check back here often for updates from throughout preseason camp. Associate Athletic Communications Director Andy Seeley and other staff members will be covering camp. 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 an e-mail to aseeley@umn.edu.
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Tuesday marked the first day of fall camp in full pads for the Gophers, adding another layer of competitiveness to practice as the team prepares for Middle Tennessee State on Sept. 2.
While practice was filled with the sounds of crunching of pads that consistently remind fans that football season is fast approaching, the full pads practice actually serves as a learning curve for some of the team's newcomers.
After practice, junior defensive tackle and team captain Brandon Kirksey pointed out that the past few days of practice for the fresh faces around the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex have been used to teach proper procedures and install schemes on all sides of the ball. Tuesday's practice introduced another aspect of the game -- the physicality of the Big Ten conference.
"The first day (the newcomers) practiced with us, we let them take a lot of the reps, and then today it was full pads so they were able to get more of a Big Ten feel," junior defensive tackle Brandon Kirksey said. "It was really physical today."
The Gophers return to two-a-days tomorrow with a morning practice in full pads before an afternoon follow-up in shells.
-Brian Deutsch, Athletic Communications Assistant
