JONESBORO, Ark. – The Arkansas State football team held its first spring practice Monday under new head coach Blake Anderson, taking the Centennial Bank Stadium field at 4 p.m. for a spirited work out in shorts and helmets that lasted until approximately 6:30 p.m.
“This was a good first day,” said Anderson. “The energy was what we wanted, and guys were bouncing around with a lot of enthusiasm all the way through. We have a set number of reps we want to get each day, and they rolled through those with good tempo. Those were all positives to build on.”
The three-time defending Sun Belt Conference champions were back on the field for their first team practice since ending the 2013 season with a 23-20 victory over Ball State in the GoDaddy Bowl. Since then, the Red Wolves have spent time off the field preparing for spring camp, and the work they put in over that span showed up today according to Anderson.
“We wanted to see a lot of energy, a great attitude, guys hustling on and off the field, and how much they’ve been paying attention to the meetings and the film they’ve watched on their own,” Anderson said. “It will get crazier as we get further into camp and start installing, but I thought, for the most part, the guys did a nice job with that.”
A-State returns six starters from the offensive side of the ball and eight defensive starters from last year’s 8-5 team, but competition at each position is expected to be high this offseason.
“I want there to be constant competition daily,” said Anderson. “I want there to be depth-chart changes and guys to fight their way up. There is bound to be somebody that didn’t maybe get an opportunity last year that deserves one – we’ve got to find that guy. Then the players that have been starters and leaders, they need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. We need to find someone who can help us, and we’ll do that over the 15 practices that we’ve got.
A-State will hold its next 14 practices, including the Red Wolves’ Spring Game on April 18, over a five-week period. A-State will have three additional practices this week, including Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, prior to Arkansas State University’s spring-break week.
“I want to get faster and more efficient, and we’ve got to talk about execution,” Anderson said. “ That’s where we will spend a lot of our time. Today was about energy, about coming out with a good tempo day, and we got that done. Now every day as we install, add situational football and put pads on, then it’s going to become about execution, and we’ll have plenty to correct.”
Working through the early stages of its 2014 spring camp, the Arkansas State football team was back on the Centennial Bank Stadium field Tuesday in shorts and helmets for the second consecutive day.
“We just asked (the players) to geat a little better today, and I thought we did in some instances,” said head coach Blake Anderson about the transition from practice one to two. “The energy was still good, but I think the challenge is going to be how they respond around day seven or eight when the sun comes out and it gets a little hotter. It’s still new and fresh right now and they’re bouncing around, but they’ll be sore in a few days. That will be a challenge, and they know that — we’ve talked about it. I was pleased with what we got out of them today.”
The Red Wolves went through numerous individual, position and team drills, focusing on all three phases of the game. The practice included special teams work and ended with several team periods. The workout was one of four scheduled for this week, which will be used to set a foundation for the rest of spring camp according to Anderson.
“I want to set a tempo for what we’re going to do the rest of the spring, just in terms of what we expect,” said Anderson. “We want to see them hustling on and off the field and from one drill to the next, communicating and practicing with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, so when the execution part really sets in we can really fine tune it through the end of spring.
“We want to find out who our leaders are — who are the guys you can consistently count on daily to come out and work hard and get the group going in the right direction. In four days, if we can get that done and just get the foundation of what we’re going to do, I’d say that’s going to be a pretty good first week.”
The team will hold its third practice Thursday in helmets and shoulder pads before putting on full pads Friday for the final practice before Arkansas State University’s spring-break week. Every spring practice, with the exception of the Spring Game on April 18, is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
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