JACKSONVILLE – The Gamecocks will put on the pads for the first time on Tuesday and head coach Jack Crowe says the practice will continue to be mental for the first couple of days.

“We have to keep it mind that the physical part has to be behind the mental part,” Crowe said following Monday's two-plus hour workout. “Even thought we are carrying our pads, it's really about getting our bodies down and getting our pads down, having some protection on our legs and getting into game role.

Crowe stressed it's not really time for the contact part of the game yet.

“It's not about contact, we are not ready for that,” added Crowe. “What we want to do is get our pads on, get into good blocking and tackling positions, continue to learn and point this thing toward some peak performances in the scrimmages and certainly in the games this fall.”

Crowe said he was overall please with Monday's workout, the final in helmets and shoulder pads.

“This was a hump day,” Crowe said. “We came out in shoulder pads yesterday and were all excited about passing licks, and woke up this morning sore. The body may have taken over the mental processes. The old ones know how to handle it a lot better than the younger ones.”

Jacksonville State will practice at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday in preparation for the first scrimmage of the preseason, which is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.