SKYHAWK FOOTBALL FALL CAMP UPDATE: PRACTICE #4
8/6/2018 9:17:00 PM | Football
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin football team donned its pads for the second day of camp on Monday afternoon, completing its fourth of 20 scheduled practices during the team's fall camp segment.
With the added weight of pads and increased temperatures, the teaching point of the afternoon was to beat the game. With temperatures sitting in the 90s on the hot turf of Hardy Graham Stadium, the Skyhawks continued to add physicality into the program's install of the playbook.
"Everything is right on schedule so far," UT Martin head coach Jason Simpson said. "The defense got a couple turnovers today and some of our older guys know how to attack the weather. On days like today you can see the guys who really love to play football. Guys have to be able to think when they're tired, when they are hot and push their bodies through it. Today was a good learning experience."
As the camp schedule enters a new work week and preps for the team's first scrimmage of camp on Saturday evening, Simpson talked to his players about one of the team's teaching standards of "beating the game".
"You have to beat the game first," Simpson said. "The opponent you play on both sides of the ball is a faceless opponent. We have to focus on what is our defense, our fit and how do we tackle? What is our scheme and who do we block? Sometimes the familiarity of blocking each other makes it too personal. The scoreboard will make it personal. You just have to worry about doing your job and playing the game the right way. When you do that, you get four yards on first down, the defense gets stops and forces them into third and long, you convert third downs and take care of the football. There are rules to the game and you have to beat those before you can worry about an opponent."
The Skyhawks will return to the gridiron on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings before shutting it down for the team's first off day on Thursday. UT Martin will then return to the field on Friday evening before conducting its first scrimmage at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11.
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