UH head coach Dana Holgorsen looking over his team during training camp practice for the 2019 season. | Kathryn Lenihan/The Cougar
The Houston football team is still feeling the effects of last Thursday’s game against Tulane, head coach Dana Holgorsen said on Tuesday, and while he attributes it to the unusually long “training camp” in 2020, he knows that his team will have to adjust to the bumps quickly as BYU nears.
“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with,” Holgorsen told reporters via Zoom. “I got guys that practiced yesterday that are missing today and they are going to try to go again later in the week. I just think it’s getting into the grind of a game week more than anything.”
The Cougars practiced on Monday, and it was not one that made the head coach happy he said, however, it likely has to do with the team’s first real taste of the turnaround from one game to the next.
“That’s part of the adjustments of being able to be seasoned and in game shape,” Holgorsen said. “We are not in game shape right now, and we got to get there as quickly as we can.”
While Houston’s players recover from their first real game of the season, Holgorsen is confident that they will be able to pick up the intensity as the week progresses, but emphasized that his players will need to adjust to playing with a few “nicks and bruises.”
“There’s no more we are going to feel 100 percent after a game and get excited about a Tuesday morning practice and do prep,” he said.“Our team needs to understand that game week is game week, and you’re not going to feel 100 percent, and no one cares. You got to get ready for the next one. You got to power through that.”
Holgorsen said that he had 15-20 players out on Tuesday, and while none of the ailments are expected to affect his players long term, it will be something to monitor as game day against BYU approaches.
“The good news is that nothing is long-term,” the head coach said. “The bad news is that I don’t know exactly who’s going to be available for Friday night yet.”
