McTailGator
August 3rd, 2007, 09:45 AM
Close-knit Cowboys back in camp (8/3)
By GARY LANEY
(Lake Charles) AMERICAN PRESS
In the lobby of McNeese State's fieldhouse on Thursday, Steven Whitehead and Carlese Franklin argued.
The two Cowboys wide receivers were disputing whether Franklin should own a weight-room record for receivers or whether Whitehead's record should stand.
"He lifted less weight than me but he got to do 17 reps," Franklin explained. "I lifted more weight but I only did 12 reps. I could have done more reps, but I wasn't allowed to do more, he was."
The pair pleaded to the crowd, like two brothers looking to other siblings for mediation.
Franklin's logic is this: Had he been allowed to lift more reps, he would have surpassed Whitehead's total.
"Doesn't matter," Whitehead retorted. "Because if you would have set a record, I just would have gone and broken that."
It's the kind of conversation one expects in a living room between siblings. Which was entirely what McNeese has been trying to establish all summer. With nearly 100 percent attendance during summer workouts, the opening of camp on Thursday was not the reunion the opening days of camps of years past.
These players, heading into the first August camp under head coach Matt Viator, have been together all summer.
"The more people stay," Franklin explained, "the more we get to know each other and the more we become like a family."
So on Thursday, the McNeese family gathered at the fieldhouse with 90 players reporting for practices, which begin with today's 8:45 a.m. shorts-and-helmet practice. There were few surprises Thursday, and no surprising transfers showing up as players had meetings, took their physicals and took photos that will appear in game programs.
And while that may not be exciting, the consistency of the roster — only one starter from the spring, safety Jamelle Juneau, did not make it back for the fall — was the boring but good news.
"That's exciting to me," Franklin said. "Everybody made it. Everybody got eligible, took care of their grades. That's the first time since I've been here that it's happened this way."
It wasn't all good news. Three players, including two 2006 starters, will start camp on the injured list. Defensive end Kirby Joseph and tailback Jamie Leonard won't open camp on the active roster as they rehabilitate injuries, along with freshman offensive lineman David Webster.
Also, Viator said freshman offensive lineman Carson Chaisson from Jennings will go through a "gray shirt" season, attending school part-time in the fall while joining the team in the spring. Chaisson is injured and will use the fall to rehabilitate his injury. The clock on his career won't officially start until the spring.
But Viator's first camp will be mostly about familiarity. Fans will recognize the names of 14 returning starters at the beginning of camp, with the impending return of Leonard and Joseph pushing it to 16.
And there's the closeness within the team of players who spent their summers together.
"I'm excited; I'm looking forward," Franklin said as they waited for a TV interview for Whitehead, a media darling thanks to his status as Southland Conference Player of the Year and the team's most vocal player. "I think this is going to be better than ever."
By GARY LANEY
(Lake Charles) AMERICAN PRESS
In the lobby of McNeese State's fieldhouse on Thursday, Steven Whitehead and Carlese Franklin argued.
The two Cowboys wide receivers were disputing whether Franklin should own a weight-room record for receivers or whether Whitehead's record should stand.
"He lifted less weight than me but he got to do 17 reps," Franklin explained. "I lifted more weight but I only did 12 reps. I could have done more reps, but I wasn't allowed to do more, he was."
The pair pleaded to the crowd, like two brothers looking to other siblings for mediation.
Franklin's logic is this: Had he been allowed to lift more reps, he would have surpassed Whitehead's total.
"Doesn't matter," Whitehead retorted. "Because if you would have set a record, I just would have gone and broken that."
It's the kind of conversation one expects in a living room between siblings. Which was entirely what McNeese has been trying to establish all summer. With nearly 100 percent attendance during summer workouts, the opening of camp on Thursday was not the reunion the opening days of camps of years past.
These players, heading into the first August camp under head coach Matt Viator, have been together all summer.
"The more people stay," Franklin explained, "the more we get to know each other and the more we become like a family."
So on Thursday, the McNeese family gathered at the fieldhouse with 90 players reporting for practices, which begin with today's 8:45 a.m. shorts-and-helmet practice. There were few surprises Thursday, and no surprising transfers showing up as players had meetings, took their physicals and took photos that will appear in game programs.
And while that may not be exciting, the consistency of the roster — only one starter from the spring, safety Jamelle Juneau, did not make it back for the fall — was the boring but good news.
"That's exciting to me," Franklin said. "Everybody made it. Everybody got eligible, took care of their grades. That's the first time since I've been here that it's happened this way."
It wasn't all good news. Three players, including two 2006 starters, will start camp on the injured list. Defensive end Kirby Joseph and tailback Jamie Leonard won't open camp on the active roster as they rehabilitate injuries, along with freshman offensive lineman David Webster.
Also, Viator said freshman offensive lineman Carson Chaisson from Jennings will go through a "gray shirt" season, attending school part-time in the fall while joining the team in the spring. Chaisson is injured and will use the fall to rehabilitate his injury. The clock on his career won't officially start until the spring.
But Viator's first camp will be mostly about familiarity. Fans will recognize the names of 14 returning starters at the beginning of camp, with the impending return of Leonard and Joseph pushing it to 16.
And there's the closeness within the team of players who spent their summers together.
"I'm excited; I'm looking forward," Franklin said as they waited for a TV interview for Whitehead, a media darling thanks to his status as Southland Conference Player of the Year and the team's most vocal player. "I think this is going to be better than ever."