TAMPA — This morning, the Arkansas Razorbacks showed up in full gear for practice.
Head coach Sam Pittman had considered going light, without pads, but as he talked about it Monday it was obvious he wasn’t sure.
The deciding factor may have been the heat and humidity.
The Hogs have to be in full gear Saturday when they play Penn State at 11 a.m., and the heat and humidity will be even greater than it was this morning.
Getting used to the heavy weather is a good idea.
After the first session, and the players working up a light sweat during stretching and exercises, it looked like it was going to be a good day of practice.
When the first buzzer sounded, the kickers and deep snapper jogged down to the baseball field and got busy immediately. There was no goofing off or playing around.
The baseball field, like the soccer field where the rest of the team was practicing, was in perfect shape.
Interesting to note that a sign hanging on the fence noted Diamond Club members and that Grandma Lavaca and Handyman Lavaca were supporters.
This is an interesting city, and it is a big city with a freeway and several rivers running through it.
The beaches are nearby, but not here.
The Razorbacks have a beach day scheduled for Thursday afternoon and if it is like everything else this week, Pittman and Co. will be monitoring the exposure and everything else.
One thing that was noticed was how fragile a football career can be.
These young men are one injury away from never playing again.
That’s what happened to talented Koilan Jackson, son of former All-American and NFL All Pro Keith Jackson. Koilan was big, fast and had great hands but injuries sidelined him until he finally gave up football for medical reasons.
He didn’t quit being a Razorback, though. He kept coming to practice and games, in street clothes of course, and yesterday as his teammates practiced, he and a few other players walked laps around the field.
Pittman brought him to the bowl for never quitting on his team. Jackson was wearing a Razorback T-shirt with No. 88 on it, his dad’s old number.