All-Access with Cole Toner – July 25: Reviewing the first padded practice
Jul 25, 2017, 10:41 AM
During training camp, Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Cole Toner will join Doug and Wolf every morning on 98.7 FM, Arizona’s Sports Station, to give an inside look at the daily grind of camp and a personal view of how his 2017 preparation is coming along.
At the beginning of a school year, it usually takes a teacher a couple days to get into full-fledged instruction. Time is spent going over procedure, policy and expectations before diving headfirst into the full curriculum.
The same goes for football. The Arizona Cardinals reported to training camp last Friday. But it was on Monday that real instruction started — the first padded practice.
While the physicality doesn’t match a Sunday in the fall, it’s the closest thing to real football any of the participants has engaged in since last season.
Day one for Cardinals offensive lineman Cole Toner was a success.
“It was good, it was tough,” Toner said Tuesday morning. “It was a marathon practice. We had a lot of reps and it was really physical. It’s always good to have that to get back into it.
“The O-line had a pretty good day. Individually, I had a pretty good day, too, so it was a solid start to our pads.”
The near-full-speed grinding on the first day of padded practices could be a bit of a shock to the system, but Toner got through it just fine.
“I’m OK. Just sore, but I’m doing well.”
Practice can offer a range of emotions to different players. It definitely does for Toner, who feels relief after the final rep.
“I immediately feel a little more upbeat, a little happier,” he said. “I’m usually a little down before practice just because you know you’re going into something pretty tough. Afterward, you’re pretty happy, you’re more willing to joke around with the guys.”
And after the emotional portion of the process is over, it’s about the physical.
“Then, you go recover,” Toner said. “I have some Achilles tendinitis, so I always get treatment for that after practice — well before and after practice, but especially after. It’s doing OK right now.”
And, it’s on to day two.
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