Week One Spring Football Practice Update

March 23, 2018 | Football

2018 Football Spring Prospectus

MUNCIE, Ind. – Spring may have officially started this week, but the winter weather won't go away. The Ball State football team adjusted its schedule twice this week to account for cold weather and the white stuff (snow). Here are some notes and tidbits from the early happenings at football practice …

SCHEDULE CHANGES: Due to cold weather conditions on Tuesday morning, the football team called off that practice. The Cardinals are looking to make up that practice towards the end of their spring season. No official make-up date has been announced. With snow expected Saturday morning in Indiana, Ball State moved its Saturday morning practice to Friday morning.

OLD FACE, NEW PLACE: Junior Danny Pinter made 11 starts at tight end over the last two years. Now he is making the transition to offensive tackle. The coaching staff has high expectations for Pinter that he will be able to compete for the starting spot at right tackle. He added about 30 pounds to his frame this winter and is now wearing Vinnie Palazeti's old number, 75.

3-4 DEFENSE MEANS OTHER POSITION CHANGES: With the defense shifting to a 3-4 base scheme this year, some of the defensive ends are making the transition to outside linebacker. These players will have to play more in space than in the 4-3 scheme and will also line up standing up as opposed to having a hand on the ground. Christian Albright and Jordan Williams are two of the key members of this group. Junior college transfer Ray Wilborn is also expected to play an important role at outside linebacker.

FOUR QUARTERBACKS ON ROSTER: Redshirt junior Riley Neal is the most experienced quarterback on the roster. He was granted a redshirt following his injury in the fall, so he still has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Redshirt sophomore Drew Plitt, who started the 2017 fall season as the No. 4 quarterback, is now second on the depth chart. He was forced into action in the final five games this past fall. New to the team this spring is redshirt sophomore Hank Hughes, who spent the previous two seasons at Texas A&M. Rounding out the group is redshirt freshman Elliot Charlebois, who played his high school ball locally at Carmel High.

SPLASH PLAYS: The football team concluded Friday's practice by lining up the offense against the defense. The offense made a pair of splash plays in this segment. Quarterback Riley Neal found running back Malik Dunner for a 60-yard catch-and-run touchdown play where Dunner avoided several tacklers. The next drive saw running back Caleb Huntley burst through the right side of the line for a huge gain.

SCRIMMAGES: The Cardinals are currently looking to scrimmage sessions on Saturday, April 7 and Saturday, April 14 (Spring Game).

Ball State is slated to practice three more times next week – Monday, Wednesday and Friday. All practices are open to the public. For the complete football practice schedule, click here.

For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.