Murray State University Athletics
Defending OVC Champion Racer Open Practice Aug. 5
8/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
The 2003 football season promises to be a special one at Murray State and not just because the Racers make their first-ever visit to Lexington to take on the University of Kentucky. For the first time since 1997, the Racers enter a season as defending Ohio Valley Conference champions.
With a chance at back-to-back conference titles squarely in the cross hairs, the Racers begin preparing for that challenge on Tuesday, Aug. 5 with the start of summer practice.
"That is the day that every football coach in America looks forward to," Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio said Friday, referring to the first day of practice. "We've been recruiting, watching film and taking vacations, and now we're ready to start coaching again."
This weekend, 90 players will arrive on campus for the start of the 2003 season. After a day of meetings and orientation on Monday, the Racers hit the field Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. for the first of nearly 30 practices prior to the season and home opener against Valparaiso University on Aug. 30.
"Camp is so important every year because that is where you build your team," said Pannunzio, who is beginning his fourth season as head coach of the Racers. "You've got to work to get better every day because time is so limited before that first game.
"This year, camp is even more important because we have a lot of holes to fill and a lot of new players in our program. We have to have a good summer if we're going to contend in the fall."
Murray State, which finished 7-5 last season, must replace 12 starters from a team which advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs after claiming the school's eighth OVC championship. Of utmost importance this summer is retooling the offensive and defensive lines, which were nearly wiped clean due to graduation.
"Football games are still won and lost on the offensive and defensive lines and we lost a lot of good players on both sides from last year," said Pannunzio. "Our top goal in the preseason is to fill those two areas and establish some continuity. The quicker we solidify the offensive and defensive lines, the better our chances of getting off to a good start will be."
This year's camp will be different than in year's past. First, due to the upcoming construction of the university's new multi-million dollar Student Recreation and Wellness Center, the Racers will have new practice fields.
The two bermuda grass fields were ripped up from their former site, next to married housing, and moved closer to the stadium. The two fields now stretch end-to-end and figure to be better surfaces than the previous fields.
Also, because of NCAA regulations, college teams are no longer allowed to have two-a-day practices on consecutive days, which means a single session will be sandwiched in between the double sessions. And, teams can only practice once a day during the first five days of camp.
"That's a pretty big change from what we've been doing - everybody's been doing - for many years," said Pannunzio. "Coaches don't like the new system, but that's the rule and we'll deal with it."
Tuesday's first practice will begin at 3:45 p.m., as will all practices prior to Sunday, the first day of two-a-day's. Morning practices will be held at 7:00 a.m and Saturday, Aug. 9, is the first day in full pads.
