The football team tied up its laces for the first time this year. Spring football practice officially began Friday.
The Pack looked energized under head coach Tom O’Brien’s watchful eyes. It marked the first practice since the reappointment of Jon Tenuta as the associate head coach for defense and running backs coach, Des Kitchings .
Redshirt senior quarterback Mike Glennon expressed his satisfaction at the end of the first day.
“It feels good; terrific weather for a day like this, clearly a good day for practice,” Glennon said. “I felt like our offense looked pretty good today. There’s something to build on from here on now.”
Glennon has the likes of senior Tobias Palmer, sophomore Bryan Underwood and junior Quinton Payton as targets at the wide receiver position.
“It is something that will definitely help us, having the speed that they have, all three of those guys,” Glennon said. “Once the ball drops into their hands, you never know what’s going to happen.”
Another important position the Pack will need to fill will be at tight end
“All three guys [tight ends] are really hardworking; they know this is their opportunity,” Glennon said. “They have had to sit behind George in the past, but this is their opportunity and they are definitely going to make the most of it.”
One of the biggest concerns going into the new season would be to find three new linebackers to replace Terrell Manning, Audie Cole and, to make matters worse, junior D.J. Green will have to miss the season due to taking a banned substance.
“Obviously, you are taking about two tremendous football players, we hope they have great success in the National Football League,” Tenuta said. “Now we got a lot of young guys stepping up to the plate, [like] the veteran guy Sterling Lucas, who didn’t play last year because of his knee. He’s back in the fray, and from there, DJ, he won’t be able to play next year. The younger guys, the Ryan Cheeks, the Pittmans , the Peeks, those guys have to step to the forefront and see what they can do.”
Senior safety Earl Wolff filled the back four, which included All-American David Amerson , and was keen on improving on its performance from last season.
“The stats look good, but as you watch film and coach Reed evaluates us, it doesn’t look as good as we thought it does,” Wolff said. “That humbles us even more and allows us to know that we can still do a lot better.”
Wolff earmarked sophomore Brandon Pittman to make an impact at the linebacker position.
“On the defensive side, if Pittman gets it down mentally, he can be a great player,” Wolff said. “He is very athletic.”
According to O’Brien it was a good start to the season.
“Certainly there’s enough experience out here that things can run smooth, and you can tell the guys that have played are a lot more confident,” O’Brien said. “All in all it’s a good start.”
Despite the obvious concerns, O’Brien felt issues about every position would need to be addressed during spring practice.
“There are concerns about every position; the question is, after today’s practice, can we be better tomorrow?” O’Brien said.
