Ball State University Athletics
Football Team Spring Practice #3 Report
April 02, 2011 | Football
Ball State head football coach Pete Lembo sat down with the athletics media relations staff and answered questions about Spring Practice #3.
You have now had three Spring Practices, how has the progression been?
Today was a bit of a reality check - particularly on offense - after two pretty smooth practices earlier in the week. A handful of players were unable to maintain their focus with the combination of additional installation and putting pads on for the first time. We had some errant snaps and procedural penalties that effected our rhythm. At the same time, a number of guys are steadily improving. Up front, guards Kreg Hunter and Kitt O'Brien have been solid and receiver Otis Brown made some nice plays. Aaron Mershman gave us a physical presence at tight end. On defense, several young guys are showing "flashes" of quality play, but need to become more consistent. Linebacker Aaron Morris, cornerback Jeffrey Garrett and defensive tackle Nathan Ollie all shined at times today. Defensive tackle Joel Cox also showed improvement.
You have three days of practice where the weather has not been ideal, has this hampered the learning?
I don't believe it has impacted us negatively. We talk to the players a lot about the things they can control and the things they cannot control. The weather falls into the latter category. We can control our attitude, our focus and our effort. We cannot control Mother Nature. These guys are used to these ever-changing conditions. I, on the other hand, am quickly getting re-acclimated to the weather north of the Mason-Dixon Line.
You have had a number of recruits at practices, is this a part of your plan as you move forward with the program?
We work at recruiting every day as a staff. All of our coaches are constantly evaluating prospects and passing the videos on to the position coach, coordinator and finally to me. We cannot call juniors at this time of year, so a lot of the communication is via email, regular mail and through the high school coach. We encourage prospects to attend practices so they can assess our organization, tempo and see the coaching staff in action. Spring is also an opportunity for many junior prospects to see our beautiful campus for the first time. From our end, it is helpful to see recruits in person after watching them on video. It gives us an opportunity to get to know their character, meet their family and confirm their size. We have had some excellent prospects from Indiana, Ohio and elsewhere on campus recently. Some of our 2011 signees have also stopped by to watch these last three sessions.
