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University of Minnesota Athletics
Camp Blog: The Heat Is On
8/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Things were literally heating up for the Golden Gopher football team Sunday. As the afternoon practice got started, temperatures were in the high 90s, with humidity above 50 percent.
On top of that - and on top of the Gophers' shoulders - were shoulder pads. After two days in just helmets and t-shirts, the squad donned shoulder pads for the first time in this preseason training camp. There will be one more day in helmets and shoulder pads, before going to full pads on Tuesday. That's all part of the NCAA's regulations to acclimate players to practice in the first week of camp.
With more than 150 people (including coaches, support staff and student-athletes) on the field for nearly three hours in the heat, plenty of attention is paid to keeping everyone - especially the student-athletes - hydrated. There were plenty of water bottles to go around, a break in the middle of practice for Powerade, lots of cold towels on players' heads and necks, etc.
Even guys from Florida, who deal with conditions like this on a much more regular basis than Minnesotans thought it was pretty warm Sunday.
"It's hot out here," sophomore cornerback and Pompano Beach, Fla. native Michael Carter said. "We're just getting used to pads again, so you gotta work through it day by day. The humidity here ... it's crazy."
With shoulder pads on, there was a good deal more contact in Sunday's workouts than in previous sessions. For the offensive line, they were particularly happy to get shoulder pads on, according to senior center D.J. Burris.
"I thought it went really well," Burris said. "It kind of helps us and gives us a little something added to grab on to. It helps the offensive line perfect its blocking schemes. It really helped us out, I think."
The Gophers will be back to work Monday afternoon. That workout will be the first with newcomers and veterans all taking part in the same practice session.
-Andy Seeley, Associate Director of Athletic Communications
