Barrick's Bowl Blog
 Barrick Nealy | Diary Entries
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Former Texas State QB Barrick Nealy and teammate Fred Evans (DL) have been selected to play in the 60th Annual Hula Bowl, highlighting the nation’s top college football seniors. Be sure to follow the action daily as Barrick will be giving insight into his entire Hula Bowl experience right here on www.txstatebobcats.com. Barrick’s daily update will begin on Sunday! If you miss a day, the entire diary will be archived right here on the site.
The Hula Bowl will air at 6 p.m. CST on Saturday, January 21st, live on ESPN.
BARRICK'S BOWL BLOG
Wednesday Night, January 18th
Bobcat Fans – Where do I start?
Sorry about the late update. We finished our practice on Tuesday, I had lunch, and then slept from 3:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m., woke up, went back to sleep and woke up at 6 a.m. I think between not sleeping Saturday night before I left, the jet lag, and the fast pace of the first couple of days here finally caught up with me!
As far as our first practice on Tuesday morning, it was very good. We were in shells (no pads) and all of us were learning on the run. We had very basic play calling as Cody (Hodges, Texas Tech), Brad (Smith, Missouri) and I rotated repetitions in practice.
The running plays are very basic - toss right, toss left, dive right, dive left. Passing is a little more complex, but not too fancy since we all come from different schemes. It reminds me of our Pop Warner playbook.
Wednesday's practice had a little more snap. We were in shorts and shoulder pads and began moving a little more consistent to game speed with our reps. Unfortunately, Cody (Hodges, Texas Tech) sustained an injury, so Brad and me may be the only quarterbacks playing on Saturday.
After our normal practice in preparation for Saturday's game, we went through three periods of NFL drills, which was a great experience. I had several reps at wide receiver, and that was fun. I think I did a pretty good job and may play a little there on Saturday.
My former teammate and friend Fred Evans put on a show. He dominated the offensive linemen during the one-on-one drills and was very impressive. Hopefully he will carry this over to Saturday's game and impress the scouts.
Speaking of the scouts, it has been an interesting experience with them. I have had several informal meetings with them whether it is after practice or just stopping me in the lobby of the hotel. They want to know as much about you as possible - what kind of person you are, how you handle and react to situations, and anything else that may affect your performance.
Tuesday was our last formal position meeting, although Brad and I have been talking some. The bowl is very big on giving us our free time to get the experience of being in Hawaii and not just playing football. With that said, about 35 of us rented mopeds on the beach yesterday and had no fear driving around the island.
Of course, Fred and I were in that group and our friends from the University of Texas - Aaron Harris and Larry Dibbles - were also part of the fun. Let's just say the boys from Texas have taken over the island!
On a serious note, it has been great to spend some time with my cousin and her husband that live here. I also have three cousins that came out for the game, and my mom and little brother arrive on Thursday. It will be great for them, and I know they will love it here. Mrs. Bailiff also arrives tomorrow, and I really look forward to seeing her. Coach Bailiff has an important recruiting weekend in San Marcos, but I know he will be watching and cheering for Fred and me.
I am headed down to a team BBQ on the beach tonight and will update again tomorrow. Hello to all Bobcat fans and thanks for all your support.
Go 'Cats!
Barrick Nealy
Bobcat Football 2003-2005
