By By BRUCE HIXON Sports Editor
When people hear T.R. Miller Tigers football coach Jamie Riggs say his team has not made enough progress two weeks into practice, they should not be overly alarmed.
"I don't think any coach feels his team has made enough progress at this point," Riggs said.
The Tigers will begin their third full week of practice Monday with the season opener at Escambia County now just 12 days away.
"I think we're starting to get to the point where the players are getting a little tired of beating up on each other. A lot of schools will play exhibition games this week, but we don't have one. I'm kind of old school when it comes to that. I'd rather see us get in a good day of practice," Riggs said.
Like all teams in this area, the Tigers have had to deal with various versions of Mother Nature.
"In our first week of practice, it was really hot. The temperatures were probably in the low to mid 90s. Last week we got a break in the temperatures, but the humidity was a lot worse. In a lot of ways, the humidity is harder for the players to deal with than the heat. It seems like that saps the players a lot quicker than just a hot day," Riggs said.
The area dodged a bullet when Tropical Storm Bonnie drifted east and missed the area Thursday.
"You can't have players outside when it's lightning and stuff like that. In situations liek that, we'll take the players inside and we'll watch video. Practicing in some rain isn't all bad. It provides some conditions you can't really simulate and around here sooner or later you're probably going to have to play in rain," Riggs said.
Riggs said the lineup is slowly taking shape.
"There are some places where we've got a pretty good idea who is going to play, but there are also some places where we don't know yet," Riggs said.
The T.R. Miller skipper said he was pleased with the early contributions of new assistant coaches Marc Edge (linemen) and Eddie Brundidge (running backs, linemen and special teams).
"You can tell by watching their ares there is a lot of coaching going on. They've gotten acclimated and, in the case of Coach Brundidge, reacclimated to our system very well. Even though Coach Brundidge has been with us before, he has still had to make some adjustments. The players are all gone from when he was here before and our schemes have changed a little bit. I've been real pleased with their work," Riggs said.