The University of Houston football team returned to its regular workout schedule on Tuesday following an unexpected two-day layoff.

Cougars head back to the practice field after an unexpected two day layoff.

The Cougars practiced for about two hours in full pads Tuesday morning on the UH practice fields before returning to the Yeoman Fieldhouse later in the day for another two-hour workout in shorts and shoulder pads.

It was the first practice for the Cougars since Saturday. Following a day off Sunday, head coach Art Briles and his coaching staff cancelled Monday¹s scheduled workout after sophomore offensive lineman Jerrod Butler collapsed during a routine weight-lifting session in the Elmer Redd Strength & Conditioning Center and was hospitalized.

Butler remained at a local Houston hospital Tuesday evening and was listed in stable condition as of 6 p.m., Tuesday.

"We are thankful that everything is going well with Jerrod. We keep getting good reports," Briles said. "Our thoughts and prayers are still with him and his family."

The Allen native competed in nine games, including each of the last seven, during his redshirt freshman season in 2006. After joining the Cougar program out of Allen High, Butler sat out the 2005 season as a redshirt.

Following Tuesday¹s afternoon workout, Briles said he was pleased with the way the Cougars rallied from a dramatic situation involving a teammate.

"The morning practice wasn¹t quite as crisp as we would have liked it to have been with everything that has happened over the last 48 hours which is totally understandable," Briles said. "But we came back this afternoon with a great workout with a lot of spunk, emotion and intensity. It was a very productive day."

With temperatures during the afternoon hovering in triple digits, Briles and the coaches decided to take advantage of a first-class facility like the Yeoman Fieldhouse and hold the second workout of the day indoors.

"We went outside in the morning, when it was pretty hot and humid. We decided to come in during the afternoon and get a good two-hour workout where we didn¹t have to worry about fighting the heat," said, who enters his fifth season at the helm of the Cougar program in 2007. ³It ended up being a good decision."

Although the Cougars played in the air-conditioned comfort of the Yeoman Fieldhouse during Tuesday¹s second workout, Briles and his assistant coaches made certain the team was forced to overcome obstacles.

Loud music and amplified crowd noise blared in the Fieldhouse throughout the two-hour workout, forcing coaches and players to communicate with hand signals.

"We know when we go to Oregon that we are going to be on silent count on offense. We¹ve been doing that since the fourth practice, and we will continue through that game week," Briles said. "We want to be ready so that when we walk out on the field, it won¹t be anything we aren¹t prepared for."

The Cougars will work out Wednesday with a morning weight-lifting session, video study in the early afternoon and a single practice outdoors on the UH practice fields before wrapping up their two-a-days schedule with a pair of workouts Thursday.

The Cougars open the 2007 season at 2:30 p.m. (CDT), Sept. 1 when they meet Oregon in Eugene. UH opens its home schedule at 3:30 p.m., Sept. 22 against Colorado State at the friendly confines of John O¹Quinn Field at Robertson Stadium in a game televised live nationally on CSTV.