Get ready for a first look at the 2017 Bulldawgs

“Can you smell it? I can smell it!” - Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop II

Smell what?  Could it be the scent of a new, freshly laid, artificial playing surface at Bulldawg Stadium?  Maybe it’s how grass-stained footballs tickle your nose’s olfactory nerve endings while being unpacked, or it could even be the aroma of freshly brewed, dollar-a-cup coffee wafting from the Quarterback Club concession stand early on a Saturday morning.

 Maybe it’s the sweet essence of those soap bars, bottles of shampoo and new towels you and other fans have donated which will save the athletic department thousands of dollars over the school year.

For me, it’s all of the above, plus a big dose of anticipation, since I’m, without a doubt, ready for some football!

Saturday marks an annual rite known as the Bulldawg Soap, Towel and Shampoo scrimmage.  It’s our chance for a sunup look at the first edition Copperas Cove football squads, who are preparing in earnest this week to show fans and coaches where the team stands.  They’ll be plenty busy with all the headknocking, plus it’s the team’s annual media day, with pictures to be taken and interviews to be conducted.  This is a 20-plus year tradition engineered by head coach Jack Welch and his staff, where all fans are asked to bring a donation of the aforementioned bar soap, shampoo and new towels.  It really does help the program.

Coaches in Copperas Cove do care a lot for their players.  I’ve been watching them for a long time and Friday night,

I saw another coach in action that obviously feels the same way.

While doing my announcing gig at Heart O’ Texas Speedway in Elm Mott, I was informed that first-year Baylor head coach Matt Rhule had arranged to bring the entire football team and coaching staff to the racetrack as a bonding experience and to show the coaches’ appreciation for the team’s hard work in two-a-days.

I tried to finagle an interview with Coach Rhule, who said he had a player that had done some racing, so enter senior safety Davion Hall from Texarkana, who raced in the Bomber class when he was younger, before his high school coach said no more.

After getting to know Davion, I got the idea that when a receiver catches a pass in his area; it’s akin to another driver trading paint with him on the racetrack.

See what I mean?  Coaches work with and for their players.  We’ve got the best group going here in Bulldawg Country.

Come out Saturday morning and get a strong whiff of Bulldawg football!

Go Dawgs!