Louisiana Tech dons pads for sixth practice
RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech football added shoulder pads to its sixth practice of fall camp on Tuesday as the team returned to the field after a week-long hiatus.
The Bulldogs started practices on August 7, but took a week off after Day Three and resumed practices on Saturday.
“It's nice to be back in the normalcy of camp again,” head coach Skip Holtz said. “I really like the attitude and the way we're running around. There's some bright spots and pieces of the puzzle I feel really good about, but there's definitely some pieces where there's going to be a lot of competition to get ready to play the opening game. We're going to have to make the most out of every single day.”
“It's really going great,” redshirt senior defensive back Zach Hannibal said. “We're just excited to be back, and we're finally excited to be around everybody.”
The position battles are still a focus for fall camp as the team looks to replace three-year starter J'Mar Smith at quarterback as well as nine defensive starters. Holtz said many players are getting great opportunities to compete due to players not being able to be on the field for various reasons.
“It's not going to change how we compete on the field and how we decide who is going to be the No. 1, 2 or 3 in the certain competitions that we have,” Holtz said. “It's going to be important to be dialed in and focused every time we get back on that field.”
The opening three games of the Bulldogs' schedule was announced Tuesday, with Louisiana Tech playing at Baylor on Sept. 12, at Southern Miss on Sept. 19 and will host Houston Baptist on Sept. 26.
Holtz said the games mean Louisiana Tech will not have a rolling start to the season and will bring a sense of urgency regarding the level the team has to be playing at.
“It's certainly going to light a fire under our football team,” Holtz said.
“We have got to continue to refine the little things. It's not enough to know who to block or what you have to do. You need to know how to block them and how you need to pull off your assignment. For a lot of these new guys that are stepping in, it's going to create a huge learning curve.
“As a coaching staff, we have to push hard on the standard because for us to have any chance against a team like Baylor, we're going to have to have one incredible fall camp.
“We're going to need to keep everybody healthy, need to keep everybody on the field and we're going to need all the good work we can get.”
While the Bulldogs are glad to know who they will be playing, the focus remains on fall camp.
“We're glad to be playing a game,” redshirt senior running back Israel Tucker said. “But right now, we're just focusing on fall camp and trying to get better every day.”
Louisiana Tech will continue its fall camp practices on Wednesday.