University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Practice Indoors Today
8/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2001
Three days before the 2001 season kick-off against cross-town rival Rice in the annual Battle of the Bayou Bucket, bad weather forced the University of Houston football team to practice indoors in the Bill Yeoman Fieldhouse at the Athletics/Alumni Center on Wednesday (Aug. 29) afternoon.
"We had a great day and the guys really picked it up," began second-year head coach Dana Dimel. "I think earlier in the week the weather was affecting us a little bit. We didn't have a great practice outside on Tuesday because of the weather, so today we came in and we're learning how to practice indoors a little bit better. Today I thought we had a great practice and polished up all parts of our game."
The team's main focus today was on the entire game, from both side of the ball, and working on defending Rice's potential passing game and running their offense around Rice's defensive attack. "Today was the whole offense and whole defense, and more than anything, trying to defend what we think Rice is going to do offensively," added Dimel.
With one full season under their belts--a season in which the Cougars' special teams unit was a constant question mark and the team overall made many unforced errors--Dimel and his staff have spent a lot of time working with the players to fine-tune every aspect of the game and cut down on those mistakes. That is step number one towards improving upon their 2000 season record.
"We're looking to go into this game with a real concentrated effort of trying to eliminate unforced errors. That's a big plus for our football team this year," said Dimel. "The better we do that, the more football game we're going to win, and that's going to be our big focus on Saturday."
The Cougars, even with the return of one of the top receiving duos in the nation in juniors Brian Robinson (Daytona Beach, Fla.,/Mainland HS) and KeyKowa Bell (Dallas, Texas/Kimball), will no doubt have a whole new look this Saturday when junior college transfer and former walk-on Kelly Robertson (Port Neches, Texas/Western Kentucky) walks onto the field at Robertson Stadium for his first start in the red and white as the new quarterback.
Following the Rice game this Saturday, the Cougars have an off-week September 8 before traveling to take on the Bulldogs of the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., on September 15.
