BATON ROUGE — The LSU varsity and freshmen squad each practiced once here on Thursday as the Tigers wrapped up their second day of August camp under sweltering conditions at the Charles McClendon Practice Facility.
The Tiger veterans worked out for two hours on Thursday morning followed by a two-hour workout for the freshmen during the afternoon. The Tigers are expected to use the split practice schedule again on Friday before working out as a complete unit on Saturday.
“We have never really practiced around here where we practice in the morning and the afternoon,” LSU coach Nick Saban said following the afternoon session. “Even as coaches, we have never done that. We would practice at morning and at night. If we would practice in the afternoon, we would only practice one time. It does make a significant difference if you practice in the morning, at night, or in the afternoon in terms of how the players will persevere.
“This was the first day that the young guys were out there in the afternoon where it was a little more uncomfortable for them. Their ability to persevere and still focus and concentrate, get better, is the sign of maturity that we are looking for. There are a lot of good athletes out there, but we’re looking for the ones who can learn what to do, execute, focus, not get frustrated, and improve as players. If they can’t overcome that, then they won’t improve.”
Saban said that senior wide receiver Devery Henderson was slowed during the morning session with a strained hamstring.