Murray State University Athletics
Racers begin two-a-day practices
8/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State football team began two-a-days Tuesday, practicing once today at 6:30 a.m. and again at 3:15 p.m. The Racers will now hold two-a-days every other day for one week, until Tuesday, Aug. 23, the day before fall classes begin.
In the morning practice, the Racers worked on a goal-line offense and also a four-minute offense drill.
"You hear so much about teams having two-minute offenses late in the game," Racer head coach Joe Pannunzio said. "Today, we practiced a drill where we are up by two points with four minutes left to go. The object is to run the clock out but still gain yards so the opponent doesn't get the ball back with a chance to win with a field goal."
In the afternoon practice, the Racers practiced open-field tackling. Sophomore linebacker Jay Burgett, one of the most aggressive players on the team, and freshman safety Will Werner, one of the fastest players on the team, both looked sharp in these drills. Said Pannunzio, "That drill allows our kids to do a better job of tackling guys in an open space."
Pannunzio also worked on a new quarterback counter play never run before at Murray State, drawn up for athletic quarterback Ken Topps.
CAMP NOTES: Pannunzio announced the intention of a new drill to be used soon, called "trash can football." Two large trash cans are placed on each end of the field, and a tennis ball is thrown from one player to another, with the person who receives the ball not being allowed to take more than one step before finding someone else open from the defensive pressure to throw it to. The object is to place the ball in the trash can at the end of the field for points, and the team with the most points in the end wins.
"It's kind of like basketball on the football field," Pannunzio said. "It's a fun game, but it also gets the kids in better shape because of the amount of running involved in it when you're on defense."
INJURY REPORT: Four players did not practice today due to injuries: junior wide receiver Rod Harper (sore hamstring), junior offensive lineman Wayne Lomax (strained quad), freshman linebacker Vincent Coley (bruised knee) and junior wide receiver Akeem Lofton (strained groin).
