CONWAY, Ark. _ The first day of two-a-day practice for the University of Central Arkansas Bears proved to be a challenge Thursday, in more ways than the expected.
Veteran offensive coordinator Brooks Hollingsworth, who will be inducted into the UCA Sports Hall of Fame this fall, fell and broke his right arm during the early practice. That workout was run in and around the storms and lightning that blew through Conway for most of the day. The night practice at First Security Field at Estes Stadium was interrupted several times and finally scrapped due to light issues at the stadium.
“It was a very challenging day.,’ said UCA head coach Clint Conque, who is entering his 12th season at UCA. “We lost a coach, lost practice time with the lightning, lost most of the night practice because of the lights. There were a good number of challenges yesterday. And to complicate things, summer school finals are today so that was in the mix as well.
“But with all that said, I was really proud of our coaches and players, how they handled the entire day. Our coaches just kept teaching, sometimes in the dark, and they all kept working. We got as much out of the practice as we could. Everyone was able to adjust and keep right on working.’
The Bears will have their eighth practice on Friday before their first scrimmage of camp on Saturday at Estes Stadium.
“It’s definitely not been your traditional first week of camp,’ said Conque. “We’ve been thrown a lot of volleys, from weather to school to the offensive line losing their coach, to lighting issues in the stadium. We’ve had a bevy of challenges.But I think the attitudes have been super and their work ethic has been fantastic.
“They’ve responded and have been going about their business, getting as much out of each and every day as we possibly can.’
Conque said the first scrimmage is always an important one.
“Obviously you’re looking for great effort across the board,’ said Conque. “It will be the first time that some of these young guys will be on the field by themselves without the coaches. You’re looking for simple things like alignments and assignments, and carryover of technique and fundamentals.
“We challenge our players every day that every practice makes a difference. Moving forward as the days and practices go by, certainly the scrimmages carry significant weight. This will be an opportunity to build chemistry. There are rotations to be determined. And there are still some heated battles going on right now at several different positions. This will be the first major step in making some of those evaluations.’
Injuries in the secondary have created a lack of depth there that concerns Conque.
“We are beat up in the defensive secondary,’ he said. “Practically the whole injury list is DBs, a really significant number of them. Jestin Love has been out for three days with a heat-related issue. Jerrel McKnight has been limited with an ankle, and both freshmen corners, Robert Wheeler (mild MCL sprain) and Taurean Anderson (ankle). All that precipitated a move of Willie Matthews from running back to cornerback earlier in the week.
“But I’ve been very pleased with the growth of two newcomers, Josh Jones at corner and Bryce French at safety. They’re two young players who are getting opportunities because of these injuries and doing a good job.’
Junior running back Anthony Blackmon received a mild concussion Thursday and senior fullback/tight end Josh Ragland has been out with heat related issues.
The scrimmage begins at 4 p.m. at Estes Stadium.
“From here on out until school starts, we’re going to make our hay as a football team over the next eight or 10 practices,’ said Conque. “This is an important time for us as a football team.’
