University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Continue Prep for TCU
10/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 2, 2002
Fresh off a bye-week, the University of Houston Cougar football team took the practice field behind the Athletics/Alumni Center on Wednesday (Oct. 2) afternoon and continued preparations for the remainder of the season, with the first stop being at TCU this coming weekend.
"TCU is very good against the run," began third-year head coach Dana Dimel. "So it's going to be important for us to, even though they are very good against the run, that we try to stick to our game plan and run the ball effectively. It's important for us to run the ball and run it well."
Much of the focus in these two weeks since the Texas game has been re-incorporating quarterback Nick Eddy into the daily routine and offensive scheme. Following the season-ending injury (torn ACL) Barrick Nealy suffered in the contest at Texas on Sept. 21, Eddy formally takes over the QB reigns to carry the Cougars the rest of the way.
"This week is also important for us to see how our offense changes its personality and characteristics with Nick in there at quarterback," continued Dimel. "Now, as we've been through two weeks with Nick back in charge, it's going to be interesting to see on Saturday how the dimensions of our offense changes and how the personality of our offense changes with the different trigger guy in there."
Finally, Dimel stresed that this week has been a focus of bringing back-up quarterback Torrence Botts, who was number-three on the depth chart prior to Nealy's injury, back into the thick of the offense and getting him accustomed to being in the lead role as Eddy's sole back-up.
"It's important to bring him (Botts) along now, " said Dimel. "All of the sudden, when you make the transition from a three to a two, you start to get a lot more work and intensity, and what you're doing becomes a lot more important. Those have been some of the big things we've tried to develop this week."
And heading into the remaining Conference USA games, Dimel mentioned that amongst all the talk of the Cougar offense, the defense needs to step it up a notch as well.
"It's important for our defense to continue to have some of the success it has had this year and to step up and have a big game for us in a conference game."
Following the game at TCU this Saturday (Oct. 5), the Cougars rap up this season-long four-game road stretch against the UAB Blazers in Birmingham, Alabama, on Oct. 12. The Cougars don't return home to Robertson Stadium until Oct. 19 when they host C-USA opponent Army.
