Ball State University Athletics
Football Team Spring Practice #10 Report
April 14, 2011 | Football
Ball State first-year head football coach Pete Lembo has put the Cardinals through 10 Spring Practices and talks about Practice No. 10.
NOTE: Practice No. 11 will be Thursday, April 14, instead of Friday, April 15. Practice No. 12 will take place Saturday, April 16, as originally scheduled.
How well have the veterans taken a leadership role this spring?
We have some very solid leaders in the senior class. There's a good work ethic in that group and some guys who are really passionate about the game. It is also good to see how some of the more vocal seniors are spread out among a number of different position groups. Great programs have strong leadership throughout their ranks, not just at the top. That being said, it is critical to have some good potential captains among your seniors. I told the team at the beginning of spring practice I feel comfortable we will be able to vote for captains before the Spring Game. I am still confident we can get that done and make some good decisions. It is helpful to have captains in place when summer workouts begin, because so much of the responsibility to get things done over the summer falls on the players, not the coaches. Ultimately, we want to get to a point where 105 guys are leaders because they believe in our mission and are fully committed to the cause.
You have emphasized a number of game situations in practices recently. What is your thought process?
Football is a game of situations. Understanding the goals we are trying to achieve in each specific situation is critical to winning. These are the battles within the war, so to speak. If it is third and one, we want that running back thinking about being decisive with his cut, lowering his pads and driving his legs. That is not the time to cut back behind the line of scrimmage. If it's third and nine and we throw a dig, we want that receiver making sure he reached the sticks on his route. We also want him being ready to protect the ball and go down if he's in traffic. It is a challenge for guys to process some of this when they are still thinking about how to get lined up, what the snap count is and what is their basic assignment. Nonetheless, we have to challenge them to see the big picture too if we want to win games in the fall. We still have a number of guys who have some bad habits in terms of fundamentals or who lack an understanding of basic football principles. As we hit the home stretch of spring, we need to see some new, good habits being formed. If we don't it will make for some easy decisions with regard to playing time. Figure out who you can trust and get those guys ready to play at Lucas Oil.
Talk a little bit about your offensive line and their progress this spring?
This is definitely a likeable group of guys. They are bright eyed in the meeting room and work hard on the field. As we have discussed previously, our numbers are down quite a bit. It has to be quality, not quantity with this group - and we have to stay healthy. Our tackles are athletic and a good fit for our system. We have to get stronger at that position while maintaining our athleticism. When we get Cameron Lowry back in the fall, it should ratchet up the competition for playing time with Dan Manick, Austin Holtz and Matthew Page. We have been cross training Kreg Hunter at center and strong guard. That has helped create some additional internal competition with Jerrod Gray at center. Kitt O'Brien is a great kid who is really coachable at quick guard. Jordan Hansel's stock is beginning to rise a little bit, so that is helping the competition at guard as well. We have one junior college signee coming in this summer in Chris Sparrow. Chris has a very similar demeanor to these guys and should fit in well. Hopefully, he can add to the competition for playing time in preseason camp.
