Julian Hayes' Texas Bowl Journal
Dec 26 | Football
Rutgers freshman wide receiver Julian Hayes chronicles the Scarlet Knights' trip to the Texas Bowl, reporting each day on the team's daily activities in Houston leading up the inaugural Texas Bowl vs. Kansas State on Dec. 28 at Reliant Stadium.
|
Reliant Stadium |
We woke up around 8:15 and headed down to breakfast at 9 a.m. After breakfast, I called my family and wished them a Merry Christmas. I talked to my mom and dad, sister and two little brothers. It was nice to hear from them. I also got some calls and text messages from friends from school.
We then headed into meetings and got ready for practice. We practiced a little later today because we didn't have an event right afterwards. It was raining again this morning, so we headed over to the Methodist Training Center; the Houston Texans practice facility right next to Reliant Stadium. They have a huge bubble there and it was a nice complex. The place reminded me a lot of our practice bubble back at Rutgers. It was huge inside. The only difference was the numbers and hash marks because it was a pro field.
I serve as the scout team running back so I had to go up against our first-team defense. I look at it as a win-win situation. They get to practice while I get to learn and compete against one of the best defenses in the nation. I feel like they are making me better each time I get the opportunity to go up against them.
After practice we changed and had subs waiting for us outside the locker room. We then headed back to the hotel around 2:30 where we had another bowl gift on our beds. Today we got brand new Ipod Nano's. They were sweet.
We had some free time until 4:30 where the entire team got together for a holiday social in one of the banquet rooms here at the Hyatt. Many of the players' families started arriving and they got to go to the social as well. It was a buffet so we got to move around and meet some of my teammates' parents. It was a nice event.
After relaxing for a bit in my room, I headed down to the player's lounge and played some pool with some of the guys.
After that, a couple of us headed out to walk around. It stopped raining in the afternoon so it was the first chance we got to see some of the city of Houston.
Besides practice, it was a relaxing day. I know we have some events tomorrow with the Texas Bowl so I have to get some rest.
Good night and I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas.
-Julian #18
