TicketsAug. 5, 2008
WEST HARRISON, Ind. - After severe weather changed the University of Cincinnati football team's practice schedule, the Bearcats put on the pads and hustled through a brisk two-hour session on a muggy Tuesday afternoon at Higher Ground Conference Center. The day's emphasis was on the operation of the new 40-second play clock, which is being instituted this season in college football.
Head coach Brian Kelly was pleased with what he saw from his defense on Day 5 and happy with the tempo of practice - a staple of any Kelly-coached team.
"The defense was really being pushed to get ready to go," the reigning BIG EAST Coach of the Year said afterward. "There is nobody in the country that is going to be able to push the tempo on our defense more than what they have already seen."
The schedule originally called for a 9-11 a.m. practice session, but severe thunderstorms in the area threw a wrench in those plans and pushed practice back to 2 p.m. Kelly's charges were undeterred.
"One thing we have at Higher Ground is time," Kelly said. "We were able to get in some meetings and some work off the field."
UC has its first two-a-day practice on Wednesday. The first session, which begins at 9 a.m., will be about tackling and blocking, while the second practice, slated for 3 p.m., will focus on speed work.