Spartans Begin Preparation For Florida Citrus Bowl
12/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 4, 1999
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Five days after being named Michigan State?s acting head football coach, Bobby Williams sent his team through a 90-minute workout inside the Duffy Daugherty Building Saturday to begin preparation for the Florida Citrus Bowl Jan. 1, 2000, in Orlando, Fla. The team practiced in shorts, shoulder pads and helmets.
?Practice was a lot of fun,? Williams said. ?For the first time in 15 years, I got a chance to walk on the defensive side of the football and that was interesting. I did try to keep an eye on the graduate assistant who was running drills with the running backs. My role was different today, being an observer, but I honestly enjoyed it.
?I was encouraged by the team?s enthusiasm and effort. The players got a little tired at the end of practice but that?s understandable because they haven?t been on the field for two weeks. Our focus will be even better after we find out which Southeastern Conference team we?ll be playing New Year?s Day.?
Williams also acknowledged that in many ways Saturday?s practice was therapeutic. ?It was good to get back on the football field for a lot of reasons,? Williams said. ?There have been many distractions this week. Everybody was excited about being back on the field. The players, coaches, managers and trainers all enjoyed getting away from all the rumors for awhile. It also was a fun learning experience for me as an observer.?
The Spartans will face Alabama, Florida or Tennessee from the Southeastern Conference. The Florida Citrus Bowl?s SEC representative will be announced Sunday.
?We?ll have a lot of homework to do next week,? Williams said. ?We?ll take a close look at our SEC opponent. We?ll spend a lot of time watching films and studying schemes. Anytime you step outside the conference to play a game, you can expect to see some new things. We?ll start putting together a scouting report and a basic game plan.?
Michigan State has three more bowl practices scheduled ? Dec. 10, 11 and 16 ? before departing for Orlando, Fla., Dec. 20.
