Aug. 8, 2007

EASTON, Pa. - Lafayette had its second full-team practice of preseason on Wednesday afternoon. The session marked the second, and final, day of non-contact drills.

The Leopards practiced in the intense heat and humidity, conditions that head coach Frank Tavani considered ideal.

"The heat is terrific," he said after the three-hour practice. "Even though we open the season with a night game, the other night at 7:30 it was 90 degrees here on the field. Night game or not, you have to get used to the heat coming off this surface so nothing's better than this heat. The last thing I need is two weeks of cool air. We hope it gets hotter and we're prepared for it."

Wednesday's session was the second and final one of helmets-only practices, meaning that tomorrow the Leopards will put on pads for the first time this summer.

"It was the same practice today (as yesterday)," Tavani said. "It's mandatory that the first two practices are non-padded but that makes these few days a great teaching time. We're able to focus on techniques and zeroing in on knowledge. Tomorrow's practice will be different--you've got uppers on, you've got shoulder pads on, you can start to bang a little bit. What we're doing every day now is installation on both sides of the ball."

Despite the team's solid performance these past several days, Tavani knows the hard work is still to come.

"It's learning now and getting ready to prove something," he said. "No one has proven anything yet. I've seen good things out there these past few days, but once they start whacking around we'll see who can hold up under pressure and we'll start settling in at the positions and figure out who's playing."

Thursday's forecast calls for more heat and humidity for tomorrow's practice, but the coaching staff is prepared.

"The coaches are taking their time with the players," Tavani said. "We're taking water breaks at the ends of periods and taking a longer break halfway through, which is about 90 minutes into practice, so it almost simulates a game."

The team will wrap up day three of camp with two hours of team and positional meetings.

Thursday's practice is again scheduled for 1:30 p.m., the third of five consecutive single sessions. All practices are open to the public.