Montgomery—Calling it an acclimation practice was exactly what the Alabama State University football team experienced on their first day of practice in boiling temperatures.  With the temperatures soaring again today the team once again moved their practice to a 7:30 p.m. start.

“We have five days in jersey's and shorts so we can use these days to get the players acclimated to the hot weather,” head coach Reggie Barlow said.  “We want to be smart with the guys and give them the ability to compete when they are not so drained because of the hot weather.”

There were 88 players on the field for the first day of practice with 45 of those being returners.  So there are several new faces around the team as practice begins, and there will be a lot of evaluation to go along with the first few days without the pads.

“I am thrilled about the team we have this year,” Barlow said.  “We have a good mixture of young guys and a lot of older guys.  We want to see what the players that were here in the spring retained from spring practice, but we also have to see how some of the new guys will be able to help us.”

Today's second practice was much of the same as the players continued to work on their conditioning under the lights.

“It is good to be in shorts and helmets because it gives us an opportunity to see who is in shape,” Barlow said.  “I was impressed with the shape they are in.  It shows they worked hard over the summer and we saw a lot of positives in several players.”

One of those players that stood out to the coaching staff was Quinn Bohannon.

“As we evaluate the players, we are always looking for players that stand out,” added Barlow.  “Quinn Barlow has stood out with the way he ran around in the conditioning tests.  He came into camp in good shape.”

Today's practice saw the Hornets work on all phases of the game, including a special emphasis on special teams play.

“We dedicated a hard two periods to our special teams play,” Barlow added.  “We did several drills in punt return and punt coverage as well as kick off team drills.”

“We also wanted to spend some time going through our run game.  We have spent a lot of time in the film room and we need to see what the players remember from last spring in that area of play.”

Friday's practice will be day three in the acclimation practices and will see the team go through a morning walk through and then return to the practice field tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m.

-Hornets-