When the Tennessee **** ans took the practice field on Aug. 15 just a shade before 2:30 p.m., the AccuWeather "RealFeel" was 110 degrees and the heat index was a much-milder 104 in Nashville. So let's start off **** ans observations by highlighting the real heroes of the day: the hydration squad.
By The Tennessean's count, the **** ans had at least a dozen water runners on the field at all times. After practice, one of the staffers estimated for The Tennessean that they went through the equivalent of 20-30 bags of ice to make everything work. This is part of an **** embly-line process wherein the water runners bring caddies of four-to-six squeeze-top water bottles over to a golf cart with three multi-gallon coolers filled with ice water and a big green ladle. Some of the squeeze bottles are marked off with tape or elastic wristbands to signify they're the ones to be spiked with electrolyte powders and packets from companies like LMNT (specifically the raspberry flavor) and DripDrop. The cart is also stocked with dozens of fresh towels and mini bottles of Gatorade on ice to be used as needed.
During the 10 minutes of the opening team period alone, staffers refilled 29 water bottles.
The all-hands-on-deck mentality was evident. One staffer joking asked media in the middle of practice to hop over the ropes and help "water the players." The **** ans even took a 10-minute halftime in practice so players could go into the cold room and cool off.
"You acclimate yourself to this weather," coach Robert Saleh said. "The first couple of weeks of September you don't know what the heck you're going to get. It could be 93 degrees with 90% humidity or it could be a cool fall day in the upper Midwest. You just don't know."
#took #degrees #staffers
By The Tennessean's count, the **** ans had at least a dozen water runners on the field at all times. After practice, one of the staffers estimated for The Tennessean that they went through the equivalent of 20-30 bags of ice to make everything work. This is part of an **** embly-line process wherein the water runners bring caddies of four-to-six squeeze-top water bottles over to a golf cart with three multi-gallon coolers filled with ice water and a big green ladle. Some of the squeeze bottles are marked off with tape or elastic wristbands to signify they're the ones to be spiked with electrolyte powders and packets from companies like LMNT (specifically the raspberry flavor) and DripDrop. The cart is also stocked with dozens of fresh towels and mini bottles of Gatorade on ice to be used as needed.
During the 10 minutes of the opening team period alone, staffers refilled 29 water bottles.
The all-hands-on-deck mentality was evident. One staffer joking asked media in the middle of practice to hop over the ropes and help "water the players." The **** ans even took a 10-minute halftime in practice so players could go into the cold room and cool off.
"You acclimate yourself to this weather," coach Robert Saleh said. "The first couple of weeks of September you don't know what the heck you're going to get. It could be 93 degrees with 90% humidity or it could be a cool fall day in the upper Midwest. You just don't know."
#took #degrees #staffers
15 hours ago
