Clemson Football Practice Brief For Thursday

Aug. 14, 2003

Clemson, SC – Clemson held a morning football practice on the practice fields behind the Jervey Athletic Center. It was the fourth straight day of practice and the 11th practice of the preseason for Tommy Bowden’s fifth Clemson team. The Tigers will be back on the fields for two practices on Friday, the third set of two-a-day practices this week. The team will hold a scrimmage on Saturday.

“The hottest time of the day is from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and we practiced in the middle of that time,” said Bowden. “We worked from 9:45 AM to 12:45 PM in very hot conditions. But, they worked hard the entire practice and we got a lot done.”

Bowden continues to be impressed with the team’s leadership in the fall camp. “We are seeing some team leaders come to he forefront. J.J. Howard and Khaleed Vaughn have done a good job in that area all camp. It is important this time of the year when you are setting a tone for the season.”

The team continued to spend much time on short yardage offense and defense and red-zone situations.

The Tigers have been healthy during the preseason. The only players to miss practice on Thursday were freshman defensive tackle Donnell Clark (hip) and senior Todd McClinton, who is still waiting to be cleared after under good tests have suffering a feinting spell last week. Ben Hall missed practice on Wednesday due to a knee bruise, but was back at practice on Thursday.

Clemson announced on Wednesday night that wide receiver Roscoe Crosby was cleared by the ACC to play this year. It is not known at this time when Crosby will join the team, but Bowden did meet with the former Parade All-American on late Thursday afternoon.

“I met with Roscoe and his family this afternoon. He intends to return to Clemson University and we welcome him back to our program for the 2003 season. He is in the process of taking care of all the administrative details necessary to return to school from a class enrollment and tuition standpoint. We hope to have him back with the team as soon as possible

“It will take him a period of time to get in football shape, he has not played in a game in 20 months. We have a strong returning group of receivers and I am excited about their progress so far this preseason. But, we feel Roscoe can make a consistent contribution to the team this year. He showed his talents at the end of the 2001 season when he was healthy.”