Murray State University Athletics
Racers begin pre-season practice
8/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Heat. In baseball, the word means the pitcher has a good fastball. In football, it means it must be time for training camp. The Murray State Racers opened camp as the thermometer inched past 95 degrees yesterday. MSU head coach Joe Pannunzio said that the squad made it through with no serious problems.
"We had a couple of guys cramp up a little, but I was pleased with the way they handled the heat, and that reflects on the shape they stayed in this summer," Pannunzio said. Per NCAA rules, the Racers will have five days of one-a-day workouts, and then begin two-a-day practices. All MSU workouts are being conducted at the school intramural fields.
The Racers open the season Sept. 3 at Mississippi State.
CAMP NOTES: Jonathan Eiland, the Racers' fastest player, led the receivers group in the first workout. Eiland, a junior, sat out last season.
New quarterback Ken Topps, a junior, and sophomore Ryne Salyer shared the snaps during the first day of practice, although Topps is considered the front-runner to start at Mississippi State.
The Racers welcomed a new coach to his first practice yesterday. Dwike Wilson will coach the MSU secondary. He comes to MSU from Itawamba Community College in Mississippi, a former school of current MSU quarterback Ken Topps.
In the last few years, more and more NFL teams are using the pre-season to get a jump on scouting. Two NFL scouts, from the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins, attended the Racers' workout.
MSU tailback Nick Turner isn't taking chances. On a day when the players were not required to wear pads, the senior took a precaution and wore his thigh pads. Good thing, because Turner said he was hit on the thigh hard enough that he would have been injured, had he not had the pads on.
