8/7/2001 - Football
Football Practice Report
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THE HEAT IS ON
The temperature has reached near 100 degrees the first two days of Navy's two-a-day practice sessions and the heat is something that the training staff takes very seriously.
"We are not doing a whole lot different this year than in the past because we have always paid a lot of attention to the heat here," said Dr. Jeff Fair, who is the Director of Naval Academy Athletic Training Services.
"We are making sure they drink lots of fluids. We supply the team with extra water after practice and make sure they have extra sports drinks and water at team meals. One of the key things we are doing is having a weigh in before practice and after practice and we are keeping tabs on their weight loss during practice. Your weight every morning should be the same. If they are five pounds or more off that is a danger sign that they may be getting dehydrated and could have heat problems. We encourage the players to let us know when they are having problem and for teammates to look out for each other."
COMMENTS FROM NAVY SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE END RALPH HENRY
On the first two practices: "We are looking pretty good right now, I am excited about the way we have looked so far."
On the possibility of starting: "Right now I am not sure if I am going to start, we still have a lot of practices ahead of us before that first game, but if given the chance I am going to make the most of it."
On being a local kid playing football at the Naval Academy (Henry is from Baltimore): "It is great, my family gets to come out and see me play. It is a great feeling when you do something good you can look over in the crowd and see your mom."
On last year: "We are using last year as motivation. We are going to take it one team at a time and the first team is Temple. When it comes to Aug. 30 we are going to have a lot of anger built up inside of us from last year and we are going to bring it."
COMMENTS FROM OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR MARK HUDSPETH
On what he is trying to accomplish: "First of all we are trying to change the attitude around here a little bit. We feel like we have good football players here and Coach Weatherbie has done a great job of getting this team in great shape coming into camp. We are trying to give our guys some confidence. We are going to get our kids to play hard and what we are doing on offense is going to give our guys a chance. I know with Coach Lantz on the other side of the ball, I am glad I am playing with him and not against him, we are going to be good on defense. We are just trying to get this thing going and getting the season started right."
On last year: "I like to put last year as yesterday's news, we are coming in and starting fresh. We have a new offensive and defensive scheme and we are trying to get things turned around."
On Malinowski and Candeto: "Both of those guys bring different things to the table. They both have special qualities and I feel like we can play with either one of those guys."
COMMENTS FROM NAVY HEAD COACH CHARLIE WEATHERBIE
On two-a-days: "The weather has been nice and warm, which has been great. It doesn't hurt to get out there in a little bit of heat, but we have to really watch them close. So far the carry over from the spring to the fall has been excellent. I love the way we are working, our tempo has been great and I think if we can keep people healthy and keep people practicing then we will continue to improve each day."
On last year: "I don't think you can forget about it, because there are a lot of valuable lessons that can be learned from last year. I think we learned a ton by going through adversity last year. Usually when a family or group of people go through adversity they grow a great deal. A lot of these young men on this football team have grown a ton emotionally, physically or mentally."
On feeling pressure after last year: "Pressure is self inflicted. When you have pressure it is because you don't have confidence in what you are doing. These young men will have confidence in everything they are doing out there. There won't be a lick of pressure on them. All they will have to do is to go out and perform like they have been taught in practice."
COMMENTS FROM SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK CRAIG CANDETO
On practice: "It feels good to get back out here. We've had nice weather, it may get a little hot at times, but it is a great feeling to get back and get ready for the season."
On being named the starting quarterback entering camp: "I don't think there is any more pressure on me than what I put on myself. I knew that I had to come out here and win the job and that is still on me. It could get taken away at any time."
On last year: "You need to forget about it, yet you have to look back and make improvements on where we messed up last year."
On Mark Hudspeth: "He brings a lot to this program. He is a great guy and a great leader. He brings intensity to this team and the offense he is installing is exciting to run and I think it will be exciting to watch."
On the opener against Temple: "Our goal is to beat Temple, we are not looking down the road at anybody else, just beat Temple."
CAUSING TURNOVERS
The Mids came up with just 18 turnovers last year and causing turnovers is something that has been stressed in the early practice sessions. In Tuesday morning's practice, senior safety DeJuan Cromer made a diving interception off a pass from Craig Candeto, while senior corner Marcus Jackson made a juggling catch of a Brian Madden pass. Sophomore corner David Bush also made a nice play, stripping slot back Brad Tepper of the ball after he made a catch in the flat.
CANDETO LOOKS SHARP
Sophomore quarterback Craig Candeto has looked good throwing the football the last two days. He has been the most consistent with his accuracy and appears to have the strongest arm. Brian Madden has also looked good throwing the ball.
MCILRAVY MAKES TWO GREAT CATCHES
Junior wide receiver Mike McIlravy made two great catches over the middle in seven-on-seven and during team drills. McIlravy left his feet and made acrobatic grabs on balls thrown by Candeto and Ed Malinowski. McIlravy is one of the stable of receivers Navy will use this fall.
PLEBES PARTICIPATING
Threeplebes are participating as part of two-a-day practices: wide receiver Amir Jenkins (Temple Hills, Md.), wide receiver Brian Yarbrough (Rockledge, Fla.) and wide receiver Marshawn Minter (Euclid, Ohio).
