Northwestern University Athletics
Camp Kenosha: Day 13
8/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 23, 2004
KENOSHA, Wis. -- With the end of camp just one day away, Northwestern's football team stepped onto the gridiron for the first of two practices Monday, with an emphasis on being focused.
With the grind of two-a-days, head coach Randy Walker allowed players to just wear `shells' (helmet and shoulder pads) in the morning practice, as cooler temperatures invaded southeast Wisconsin. Later that day, the Wildcats went just 12 periods in their second practice.
Monday morning's session at UW-Parkside lasted two hours, and after a brief `pep' talk from Coach Walker, turned into a spirited affair.
A lot of that noise came from the defensive side of the ball, as defensive backs and linebackers seemed to knock down every pass and defensive linemen were flying to either the quarterback or the ball carrier.
Following practice, NUsports.com took a few minutes with Wildcat defensive coordinator Greg Colby to get his take on Camp Kenosha.
NUsports.com: Camp is into its 13th day, how does the defense look?
Coach Colby: I'd say our guys are a little stiff and sore right now from the daily grind of practice. But, overall I've been real pleased with our progress. They've all shown great effort throughout camp and our maturity is showing, especially from our older guys. We're doing some things we haven't done before in terms of reaction and being good football players. I'm real happy with our progress to this point and I think we're going to be in pretty good shape when we get started in Texas.
NUsports.com: How have your older guys prepared this year compared to season's past?
Coach Colby: I think the biggest thing I've seen is they've taken ownership of what we're trying to accomplish as a defense. I haven't had to do nearly as much prodding and pushing to get them going, because the veterans are taking care of that themselves. Of course I always do a little bit of that (Coach Colby said with a smirk). They (the veterans) have done a real good job of taking that leadership and pushing each other and bringing each other along. I think that is one of the reasons why we've made the progress we've made so far.
CAMP KENOSHA NOTES
Following Monday's second practice, Walker sprung the watermelon eating contest on selected freshmen. Each position group "nominated" a freshman player for the contest. This year's winner was none other than place-kicker Amado Villarreal, who happens to be the Wildcats' smallest player at 5-foot-8, 160 pounds ... Northwestern will wrap up Camp Kenosha Tuesday morning with a mock pre-game walk-through at 9 a.m. Following lunch, the Wildcats will board charter busses at 2 p.m. and return to Evanston.
