RUSTON ? Louisiana Tech head coach Derek Dooley is starting to see signs of his team healing up as the second-year coach continues preparation for the Aug. 30 season opener against Mississippi State.
Following Saturday afternoon’s practice, Dooley noted a number of Bulldogs who have returned to the practice field the last few days after missing time due to injuries.
“Philip Beck and Shane Womack have been out and they are back and have looked good the last two days because they have fresh legs,” Dooley said talking about the wide receiver duo. “There’s always a noticeable difference when guys have been out and then return because they are fresher. Brannon Jackson too; it’s good to have Brannon back and he just has to fight through the pain.
“David Accardo is back and progressing nicely. A lot of these guys still have pain, but is a matter of managing the pain and realizing that as they work through it, it will get easier. It’s important these guys get healthy because we are thin in a number of areas.”
Beck and Wheeler have both been out for over a week which has allowed a number of the younger Bulldog wide receivers to get more repetitions in practice. Beck caught 30 passes for 359 yards and one score last year while Wheeler caught only two for 21 yards and one touchdown while missing eight games due to injury.
Jackson, who is expected to start at middle linebacker for Tech, missed all of last year due to injury. In 2006, Jackson registered 67 tackles while starting 11 games.
Accardo is also coming off an injury-plagued 2007 that saw him start three games before missing the final nine to do injury. He started all 13 games on the Tech offensive line in 2006.
The Bulldogs used Saturday to prepare for what Dooley said would be the final real scrimmage of the fall which will take place Sunday evening at Joe Aillet Stadium.
“Today was a move-the-field script practice,” Dooley said. “We put in our last plays of the game; our Hail Mary situations. What we will do tomorrow is a situational scrimmage. It will basically consist of seven or eight last four minutes of the game. The offense will either be up seven or down seven, up four or down four, up 10 or down 10, and we will play the clock to zero.
“You come up with thousands of decisions and game management situations for our coaches and players to learn. It’s one of my favorite scrimmages. It really teaches guys how important it is to make plays down the stretch. This is essentially the last scrimmage as far as evaluating our players.”
The scrimmage which is closed to the public will end the second week of fall camp for Tech.
Following Saturday afternoon’s practice, Dooley noted a number of Bulldogs who have returned to the practice field the last few days after missing time due to injuries.
“Philip Beck and Shane Womack have been out and they are back and have looked good the last two days because they have fresh legs,” Dooley said talking about the wide receiver duo. “There’s always a noticeable difference when guys have been out and then return because they are fresher. Brannon Jackson too; it’s good to have Brannon back and he just has to fight through the pain.
“David Accardo is back and progressing nicely. A lot of these guys still have pain, but is a matter of managing the pain and realizing that as they work through it, it will get easier. It’s important these guys get healthy because we are thin in a number of areas.”
Beck and Wheeler have both been out for over a week which has allowed a number of the younger Bulldog wide receivers to get more repetitions in practice. Beck caught 30 passes for 359 yards and one score last year while Wheeler caught only two for 21 yards and one touchdown while missing eight games due to injury.
Jackson, who is expected to start at middle linebacker for Tech, missed all of last year due to injury. In 2006, Jackson registered 67 tackles while starting 11 games.
Accardo is also coming off an injury-plagued 2007 that saw him start three games before missing the final nine to do injury. He started all 13 games on the Tech offensive line in 2006.
The Bulldogs used Saturday to prepare for what Dooley said would be the final real scrimmage of the fall which will take place Sunday evening at Joe Aillet Stadium.
“Today was a move-the-field script practice,” Dooley said. “We put in our last plays of the game; our Hail Mary situations. What we will do tomorrow is a situational scrimmage. It will basically consist of seven or eight last four minutes of the game. The offense will either be up seven or down seven, up four or down four, up 10 or down 10, and we will play the clock to zero.
“You come up with thousands of decisions and game management situations for our coaches and players to learn. It’s one of my favorite scrimmages. It really teaches guys how important it is to make plays down the stretch. This is essentially the last scrimmage as far as evaluating our players.”
The scrimmage which is closed to the public will end the second week of fall camp for Tech.
