Pirates Don Full Gear for First Time
August 11, 2003 | Football
First-year head coach John Thompson put his team through a two-hour, 10-minute practice session which harder hitting and more line-of-scrimmage work than previous practices. Sunny skies gave the team a welcome change from the rain it has experienced for much of the previous four days of work.
Today's full-gear workout helped the Pirate defense turn up its intensity a notch, according to defensive coordinator Jerry Odom.
"You're trying to get a toughness factor and an attitude factor where you know that you're going to play between the whistles as hard as you can," Odom said. "You're trying to outwork everybody. I think that's a big part [of the difference in today's practice]. I think the other big part is that we finally got to play in the sunshine. It's nice to come out here and feel what it's really like in eastern North Carolina.
"I think we're progressing a little bit and are a little more physical now than we were in the spring. We've got a long, long way to go, however. The kids attitudes are good and they're starting to believe in one another," Odom added.
Preseason practice kicks into high gear on Tuesday as the Pirates have their first day of two-a-day practices. Early morning and late afternoon sessions are scheduled. A scrimmage is slated as part of Wednesday's practice in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.
Thompson's Pirates will open the 2003 season on Labor Day, Sept. 1, at defending Conference USA co-champ Cincinnati in a game televised nationally by ESPN.
