With the first week of classes underway, there’s a lot to digest as students get organized and prepared for the new academic year.
The same goes for the student athletes on the football team.
It’s a new grind starting this week with the players balancing school and football. Head coach Hugh Freeze felt the team was sluggish and ill prepared as practice ended Tuesday afternoon.
“It didn’t feel like we had the energy that need to have to be a great football team,” Freeze said. “It was a work day, for sure, with classes in the mornings, tutoring, study halls then going to practice. We have to get them accustomed to doing that.”
As the first game of the season creeps up on the Rebels, Freeze expressed his disappointment with Tuesday’s practice and feels that he needs more time and more evaluation during practices to see where his team is at this moment.
“It’s so hard to judge where you’re at right now,” Freeze said. “You can with some positions that are easier to judge than others, but how you’re going to play in front of another team with different looks will be the difference.”
Even after a low energy practice during the first week of school, Freeze said he’s been pleased with the team so far in fall camp and has exceeded expectations so far in the eyes of the coaching staff.
“The kids have responded and have handled the challenges of raising the level of expectations throughout the course of the two-and-a-half weeks of fall camp,” Freeze said. “I’m happy with fall camp. Today was just flat.”
The quarterback battle remains an even race as junior Chad Kelly and redshirt sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade shared reps with the offense during practice.
Naming a starting quarterback for the season remains a blur, but a starter for the first game against UT-Martin will come soon. Freeze wants his gut to tell him who the starter for the season is, but he’ll name a starter for the first game some time next week.
“Ultimately how they do in the game will be the litmus test,” Freeze said. “All three of them will have their fair share of opportunities.”
The offensive line is coming into form as Freeze named junior Robert Conyers the center and senior Justin Bell and freshman Javon Patterson the starters at both guard positions. Senior Ben Still will also receive playing time on the offensive line.
The defense will make a tiny transition that could have a big impact as senior CJ Johnson makes the move from defensive end to linebacker. Earlier in fall camp, Freeze said Johnson wasn’t a finished product. That hasn’t changed.
“I don’t think you can tell until we play,” Freeze said. “I’m not sure exactly what he’s going to be when we line up in our base defense. We’ll find that out.”
As the start of the 2015 season is less than two weeks away, don’t expect Freeze to take any sluggish performances in practice lightly.
