No Fooling: Croom Sees Progress In Thursday Work
"I thought we were better today," Croom said. "We still put the ball on the ground too much, but I thought the quarterbacks got better, particularly the later in practice we got.
"We were physical up front on both sides of the ball, and that was encouraging," Croom continued. "I thought the work and intensity of practice was good throughout. It seems like maybe we have it going in the right direction, but we'll see if we can do it again tomorrow."
While the coach may have not been kidding with his post-practice assessment, it didn't mean that the two hour, 30-minute workout did not have some moments befitting the day.
During the conditioning run at the close of practice, rising senior nose tackle Ronald Fields (Bogalusa, La.) drew everyone's attention as his group was finishing its shuttle run. The 320-pounder went to the ground 10 yards from the end of his run, grasping his left knee and writhing in pain. The injured Bulldog had the medical staff scurrying out to the playing field to provide assistance. It was only as they came near that he bounced to his feet with a gleeful "April Fools."
Croom joined in the tomfoolery moments later when he announced that each exhausted group had one more shuttle run. The head coach broke into a big smile and called the group together for his final instructions instead.
Thursday's practice was attended by numerous prep coaches from around the southeast who were in town for the high school coaches' clinic, hosted by the MSU staff.