Northwestern University Athletics
Camp Kenosha: Day Four
8/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 12, 2006
KENOSHA, Wis. - The Wildcats practiced in front of their largest crowd since arriving in Kenosha under a sun-filled sky Saturday at the UW-Parkside campus. The fans and family in attendance got treated to a high intensity practice that culminated in a live scrimmage. The 'Cats have a day off on Sunday, but will resume Monday with two practices, the first beginning at 8 a.m.
During the scrimmage, the offense put together two long drives, one with Mike Kafka (Chicago, Ill./St. Rita) under center and the other with Andrew Brewer (Tulsa, Okla./Jenks) calling the plays. Kafka led the offense into the red zone, but had to settle for a field goal by kicker Joel Howells (Sycamore, Ill./Sycamore). The offense scored a touchdown on the last possession of practice, but the highlight of the scrimmage was a pass from Andrew Brewer to redshirt freshman Kevin Mitchell (Skokie, Ill./Notre Dame) on a third-and-long play. Brewer placed the ball directly over Mitchell's right shoulder and the receiver caught the ball while falling to the ground for a 30-yard gain.
The Wildcats have Sunday off, the team's first free day since arriving for preseason camp. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald announced at the conclusion of practice that the team will be boarding buses tonight to enjoy a night on the town by seeing Will Ferrell's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby." The announcement resulted in loud cheers from the tired squad.
After practice, NUsports.com spoke with Mike Kafka, Joel Howells, Kevin Mims (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands) and Brandon Roberson (Pearland, Texas/Pearland) about what they like most about Camp Kenosha and about how the 'Cats are looking with the season opener a few weeks away.
NUsports.com: Talk a little bit about what you like about the atmosphere around practices in Kenosha
Kafka: I think it's great! There are no distractions. It's just football and that's how it should be I think.
Howells: My first year up here I hated it. I was a homesick freshman. I couldn't wait to leave. As I've gotten older I actually kinda enjoy it. After about a week, I'm itching to go home though.
Mims: Being up here helps a lot. All we do is focus on each other. The main part of Kenosha is to focus on the team. Being able to know that you can trust the guy next to you is huge. That's what we work on up here.
Roberson: We get to be with our family. Our teammates are our family. It's great to be around these guys for two weeks. When we're in Evanston we have other distractions. This is one of the only times we can be together and be a family.
NUsports.com: Kevin, give a little summary of how the defense looks so far.
Mims: We have been fighting a lot of injuries. Other than that, we have some young guys stepping up. Freshmen just coming into the program are already stepping up. We have some older guys taking leadership roles, helping guys when their down. It's definitely going to be a step up from last year. A huge step.
NUsports.com: Brandon, there is tremendous depth at the running back position. What are the advantages of having so many great runners?
Roberson: It's very competitive. That's a good thing to have at the running back position. With Terrell Jordan, Tyrell Sutton and the other guys in the running back room it gives you someone to watch.
Additional Audio
Kafka on the advantages of getting more snaps this year
Howells on trying to simulate game situations in practice
Mims describes conditioning drills
