Ball State University Athletics
Football Team Spring Practice #7 Report
April 09, 2011 | Football
Ball State's football team completed its seventh of 15 practices Friday. The Cardinals will end Spring Practice April 23 with its Spring Game at Scheumann Stadium at 3 p.m.
First-year head football coach Pete Lembo answers questions about Practice #7.
You are at the halfway point of Spring Practice, is the team where you expected it to be at this point?
In some ways we are ahead of where I thought we would be, but we definitely have a long way to go in many areas. We are teaching, evaluating and trying to build strong relationships at the same time. We are learning about the strengths and weaknesses of each player and the team as a whole. I am pleasantly surprised at the relatively low number of assignment mistakes considering how new everything is to the players. At the same time, we don't always do some of the simple things well - like playing in a good, athletic position or taking care of the football. Those things will get you beat in a hurry. We are emphasizing a lot of fundamentals each day in hopes of forming some good habits and basic football skills by the conclusion of spring drills.
Is there one group -- offense, defense, special teams -- ahead of another in terms of progress?
Each group has shown some flashes, but has been inconsistent. We have a number of guys playing new positions and others who are still getting adjusted to the new systems. On offense and defense, we have taken a slow, but steady approach to our installation schedule. We have been careful not to overload the players with too many schemes. On special teams, we have been primarily teaching fundamentals and concepts with the exception of punt protection and the PAT/field goal unit. You have to crawl before you can walk. Several individual players continue to make their presence felt and today was no exception. Receivers Jamill Smith, Briggs Orsbon and Willie Snead all made plays in team or pass skeleton periods. Center Jerrod Gray is getting better upfront as is tackle Austin Holtz. Cornerback Quinton Cooper made some plays on defense today, including an interception in one of the pass skeleton periods. Safety Joshua Howard is starting to play faster.
Are team leaders beginning to emerge from your team at this point?
We definitely have some solid leadership in our senior class. I have been meeting with our seniors periodically to discuss the direction of the program and some of the philosophical and structural changes we want to incorporate in the near future. They have been very open and honest with me and I have learned a lot from them so far. They are an important piece of the puzzle because they were here when the program experienced success. They have seen the ups and downs on the field, but also have an intimate knowledge of what took place behind the scenes. I already feel very comfortable bouncing ideas off them. I am also sensitive to the fact that I am the third head coach they have played for. Their commitment and "buy in" has been terrific so far, but I don't take it for granted. I am sure we will all work hard to continue to build trust in the weeks and months to come.
Has the pace of practices been what you wanted this spring?
It is slowly improving each day. The players are getting more comfortable with the length and organization of our practice sessions. It requires great focus. You cannot just give good physical effort. We are asking these guys to be plugged in all the time and become better students of the game. We are challenging them mentally as much as we are physically. We want to move at a good pace, but not at the expense of teaching. Even something as simple as holding a shield in a drill - there's a way to do it right. There's a way to do it where your teammate benefits and therefore the team benefits. Once we get every player suited up taking the approach that I need to get better in every period of every practice, we will move at a good pace.
