Clemson Football Practice Brief

Aug. 23, 2001

Clemson, SC – The Clemson Tigers worked for two and half hours on the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center on Thursday afternoon. The team will work for more than two hours in Memorial Stadium on Friday in what Head Coach Tommy Bowden calls “The Beanie Bowl.”

The Beanie Bowl is a dry run of game day operations from pregame warmup to testing of the communication system. The team will practice early Saturday morning, then take Sunday off.

“Practice went well today,” said Bowden. “At this point we are working on alignment and assignments and working on our preparation for Central Florida. We certainly can’t afford to get anyone else injured.” The Tigers have lost two starters in the last week. Senior linebacker Altroy Bodrick is out for the year with a torn ACL suffered in last Saturday’s scrimmage in Memorial Stadium. Sophomore wide receiver Kevin Youngblood suffered a broken leg in a scrimmage on the practice fields on Tuesday.

There were no new injuries reported on Thursday. Travis Zachery was in a yellow jersey due to a sprained ankle, but he should be back soon. Khaleed Vaughn, starting defensive end, missed another practice with a neck injury, but he should also be back by the weekend. Starting offensive tackle Derrick Brantley continued to miss practice with a sprained knee, as did tight end Morgan Woodward. Offensive linemen T.J. Watkins and Gary Byrd were back at full strength.

Bowden was asked after the practice to comment on the naming of Chad Carson to the Butkus Award preseason list and about the progress of the defensive line. “If they look at the total package, Chad is certainly a worthy candidate. He led our team in tackles last year, finishing among the nation leaders. When you factor in his academic accomplishments you have quite a strong candidate.

“The defensive line has played well in the preseason. For the first couple of scrimmages they really did well against the offensive line. The offensive line won the battle in the last scrimmage. But, we have some players who have to step up. Jovon Bush is a fifth-year player who needs to be productive. Bryant McNeal is in his fourth year and he needs to be a factor. Nick Eason has been learning a new position, but has had a good camp.”