HUNTINGTON Ƶ ItƵs that time of year again.
MarshallƵs spring football practices began on Tuesday. ItƵs the first year at the helm for Thundering Herd coach Tony Gibson, and more 60 newcomers took the field, too.
ƵSurreal,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵWalking out, I kinda got a little bored in those first 10 periods. I didnƵt know what to do. It was fun being out here on the grass Ƶ getting to coach football again. It seems like itƵs been a long time. The kids responded well. We had a good Day 1 energy.
ƵNow what we have to do is get better, correct our mistakes and come out Thursday and have a better practice.Ƶ
ItƵs the time of install Ƶ bringing in a brand-new system while evaluating players for what feels like dozens of openings across the field.
ƵI think that the best two times to be a football coach are spring practice and fall camp,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵYou donƵt have any other distractions. You donƵt have to worry about getting ready for games. ItƵs all about getting your team better. ThatƵs the goal for our team right now Ƶ get better every day and stack days.Ƶ
With so many new faces, Gibson said a full depth chart wonƵt be established until after the spring phase is finished. Now is the time, as he said, for development and evaluation.
ƵThe big goal is to make sure that these guys know each other,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵYou worry a little bit about it as a new coach Ƶ how well will this team jell with 62 new guys?
ƵI give credit to our coaching staff and the strength staff for what theyƵve been able to do in these first few months Ƶ getting guys on the same page.Ƶ
Gibson said what the coaching staff looked for on the first day of practice was players who were able to translate off-the-field learning between the lines.
ƵWe want guys who arenƵt going to make the same mistakes over and over,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵObviously, weƵll make early mistakes. We gotta get them fixed and let our coordinators keep up with installs. We canƵt stick on install.Ƶ
Ƶ for goals in each phase:
ƵDefensively, I want to see communication by our defense,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵMaking sure our guys are on the same page. Offensively, I want to see us finishing plays. We went back-and-forth and moved the ball today. It was good to see both sides do some things well. Both sides did some things not so well that we have to fix.Ƶ
The first day still gave time to yield positives and negatives. Gibson brings in a hard-nosed practice regimen that matches his character.
ƵThings that we did well Ƶ communication on defense,Ƶ Gibson said. ƵThings that we didnƵt do well Ƶ on defense, backside pursuit and running to the ball. We have to coach that. WeƵre going to coach effort, and thatƵs going to be big on our list tomorrow when we meet with these guys.
ƵOffensively, I thought we finished some drives really well today. We had some nice catches and good throws by our quarterbacks. We canƵt run the ball right now Ƶ we donƵt have pads. After a couple of days in our underwear, weƵll get to put some pads on and get after it.Ƶ
On offense, Zion Turner comes over as a transfer quarterback who worked with new offensive coordinator Rod Smith at Jacksonville State. His early impressions were an emphasis on tempo as he sees a fast-paced offense.
ƵIt felt great, honestly,Ƶ Turner said. ƵComing out today, I knew it would be a little iffy. Practice 1 is always iffy for the offense. I think we came out and sent a strong message that the offense is different. A lot of teams will have to adjust. The more practice we get, the better we will get. We took a step in the right direction.
ƵExact same offense as last year Ƶ thatƵs one of the reasons I chose to come here. Year 2 in this offense, I feel like IƵve improved a lot, especially mentally.Ƶ
Cannon Lewis brings defensive carry-over from North Carolina State, where he worked closely with Gibson. Lewis sees toughness at the forefront of the entire team.
ƵHe let us know when we went out there Ƶ heƵs good with the gassers and stuff. He let us know that thatƵs nothing,Ƶ Lewis said. ƵItƵs going to be worse. You have to be able to out-tough people. ThatƵs what heƵs built. Every culture heƵs built Ƶ the defense was about toughness. ItƵs not as many XƵs and OƵs and everything. HeƵs going to implement toughness. ThatƵs what we are really focused on.Ƶ
Lewis played high school football at Cabell Midland. He paused for a second when asked what stepping back onto the field locally for the first time since his high school days was like.
ƵI played on this field once in high school,Ƶ Lewis said. ƵItƵs awesome to be out here. ItƵs completely different when you play where youƵre from. It feels like high school again. YouƵre with a bunch of guys that you love to be around. You played against a lot of them Ƶ completely different, but I love it.Ƶ
