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Coach Traylor 'very pleased' with first practice

By JOE DODD

An army of 141 Buckeyes showed up for their first football practice on Monday and Tuesday, as practice began for the 2007 season. Ninety-four student-athletes reported to the new Field House Monday evening for the 10th-12th grade practice, and another forty-seven 9th grade football players went through their first practice Tuesday morning.

Gilmer head coach Jeff Traylor liked what he saw in his varsity team’s first day. “I was very pleased at how well we executed.” remarked Traylor, whose Buckeyes finished 10-1 last season. “Our coaches just did a wonderful job tonight. We were very organized. You could tell we were ready to get the bur off of us. That Liberty-Eylau loss is still stinging our coaches tremendously. We coached hard tonight.”

Traylor designed the first day of practice to be the most challenging in his eight years at his alma mater. “We gave them the hardest first practice. That’s the most conditioning we’ve ever done for a first practice, and they just kept bouncing back.”

That wasn’t a surprise to Traylor, who said that the first day of practice doesn’t reveal what type of team he will have. “I already know. You know before you get here. We do so much work year-round. There are very rarely any surprises, because we test these kids so hard before they get here. So we already had a pretty good barometer on this team.”

So what is Traylor’s take on this year’s squad? “We’re not as fast; we’re not as athletic, that’s obvious,” replied Traylor. “But, I like this team. I think there is a really, really strong group of seniors. I think we’re really going to be able to push this team.”

The Buckeyes will practice every evening this week from 6-7:30 p.m. and again from 8:30-10 p.m. at Buckeye Stadium. The public is invited to attend.


Mirror Photo / Mary Laschinger Kirby
THE STRENGTH of the 2007 Buckeyes is in the very experienced and talented offensive line with two 4-year starters and one 3-year leader anchoring the middle. From left are Clayton Hampton, Daniel Jenkins, David Snow, Chip Elms, Cody Lee and Garrett Adkins responding to Coach Kurt Traylor, while Coach Joey Jackson watches during the team’s first practice on Monday.

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