Goodbye Training Camp, Hello Game Week

Training camp is finally officially over and it is now game week.
Training camp went very well for us as a team. We made great strides
in the span of three weeks and are now ready to play our hearts out.
I think I speak for all of my teammates when I say that we are so ready
to play against someone other than ourselves. I swear if I have
to see Adam McClurg in the hole one more time I'm going to go crazy!

I feel that I, personally, had a good training camp. My goal for
myself this camp was the same that I had for myself in the spring. I
wanted to make it VERY hard for the coaches not to play me. I want to
be a guy that changes the game in one way or another. I want to be an
impact player. I've worked at doing just that by paying attention to details
and focusing on the little things such as tracks (the RBs course to
get the football), my form in pass protection, reading the defense,
getting more out of film study, route running, catching the football,
etc. Coach Lynch has stressed focusing on the little things and
attention to detail. Though I can't say that I've been perfect, I've
taken his words to heart and have done my best to transfer them to the
field.

Training camp was no walk in the park, nor was it the toughest thing
I've been through. I went through daily three-a-days in prep school at
Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. While this was definitely not
three-a-days, I did have some bumps and bruises this camp. It was
sometimes frustrating but I just prayed about things and I knew that
whatever went wrong, it would pass. For example, I was unable to
participate in the first scrimmage because of a minor injury that
occurred the day before. I was very upset. I didn't show it when
people saw me, but behind closed doors anger burned inside me. I was
mad at God for Him allowing the injury to happen. But I know that it
will heal and God knows what He's doing.


B-E AGGRESSIVE
One thing that I really enjoyed seeing was the over-aggression of the
freshmen. All of them are so eager to make a name for themselves and
earn the respect of the rest of players and coaches. They try so hard
to not only do things correctly, but also to the do them fast. The game
is so much faster for them at this level. Some adjust faster than
others, but they all will get it soon.

Us older players have a saying for the over-aggression of the freshmen. One player that has really stood out to me is linebacker Tyler Replogle. He runs around the field like a madman.

I think he's in on about every tackle, he plays hard all the time, is a
hard hitter and sometimes forgets what "thud up" means. But I love
it. I don't always like to get tackled in a "thud" drill but I try not
to get too upset because I know the motor of this guy and the other
freshmen will do nothing but help our football team.

GAME WEEK
Yes, it is now game week. Thank goodness. I cannot wait until
Saturday. I know that my teammates and I are going to be hype beyond
belief. Though, we must keep our composure through everything because
anyone who has ever played knows that that huge rush you get on gameday
only lasts for about 10 minutes, or until you get hit in the mouth. I
have full confidence in my teammates and coaches. The coaching staff
has gotten and is continuing to get us ready to play and win on
Saturday.

MESSAGE FOR THE ROAD
"Great things in life are hard to get but easy to lose. So when you
find something great hold on to it." -Maria Sharapova