Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Goes Camping With First Day of Fall Practice
8/9/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 9, 2010
Photo Gallery: First Day of Practice
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern may have left the shoulder pads in the locker room during its first official practice Monday in Evanston, but that didn't stop NU from getting off to a fast start to its 2010 fall camp. The 'Cats, who earlier Monday underwent the team's conditioning test, completed an energetic 19-period practice that lasted nearly two and a half hours.
Many of NU's key returning seniors were responsible for making sure energy was high from the get-go, including defensive lineman Corbin Bryant -- who pumped up his team following warm-ups -- and linebacker Quentin Davie.
"It was a good first day even though there were a lot of mistakes and some first-day jitters," Davie said to a strong contingent of media post-practice. "We take our conditioning seriously during the summer to make sure we get all our workouts in and do what we need to do to be ready. I think that showed this morning in the conditioning test and for a lot of guys it showed again at practice."
Twenty-four true freshmen got their first taste of participating in a Northwestern training session on Monday, learning first-hand the meaning of NU's goal to go "as hard as you can as long as you can" on a humid August afternoon.
"With the first group and with the guys who are one play away from getting on the field you want to see execution, fundamentals, good technique," said head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "With the young guys you just want to see who will cut it loose because they have no idea what they're doing out here. They just go out and have some fun and let us coach them up a little bit."
Calling the signals for Northwestern's first team offense is junior quarterback Dan Persa while, on the other side of the ball, the 'Cats return six starters from a 2009 defensive unit that helped NU earn an 8-5 record and a berth in the 2010 Outback Bowl. The Wildcats will go through seven practices on campus before shifting the site of preseason camp to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wis.
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