Spring fever
T-Birds picking up system
By RICH JOHNSON
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL
A renewed level of optimism and excitement surrounds the
SUU football team during spring practice, and running
back Cory Ashby said there is a higher level of intensity
as well.
“It’s easy to keep your intensity up with
a new thing,” Ashby said. “With a new coach
in here and everything, I think it’s a lot easier
to keep the intensity up. I think intensity is a big part
of things.”
After finishing a combined 3-19 in the past two seasons,
the football team will begin a new era in 2003 with a
new coaching staff and new system.
Safety Steve Smith said the new coaches are “incredible,”
and Ashby described them as “awesome.”
“They’re bringing this program to a new level,”
Smith said. “They’re definitely getting along
a lot better with the community and players like them,
everybody likes them.”
Ashby said practice is run different than under the previous
coaching staff. He said there is no down time, and the
coaches keep the players moving.
“They came in here and got us new weights and stuff
that we really needed,” Ashby said. “They’ve
given us every opportunity to win. We had opportunities
to win last year, too, but it’s just given us a
better opportunity to win this year and made everything
a little bit better.”
Quarterback Casey Rehrer, a transfer from Dixie State,
said he loves the coaching staff and the new offense.
“It has been such a great move here to SUU,”
Rehrer said. “I don’t regret it at all. I’m
loving it. I love the new offense and the way I’ve
been treated here. They do a great job, and they take
care of you.”
Coach Gary Andersen said the team still has a long way
to go after Tuesday’s scrimmage, which was SUU’s
first full scrimmage of the spring season. However, considering
the team only had seven practices before the scrimmage,
Andersen said it’s shocking how well the team is
coming together.
“After seven practices and a brand new program where
these guys didn’t know anything, I wanted to get
the coaches off and see how the kids would react,”
Andersen said. “I was shocked. We were getting in
and out of the huddle, there weren’t many cadence
problems and we didn’t have one problem with the
shotgun snap . . . We’re not at the pace we want
to be game day, but just to be able to do that right now
is a good show of quarterbacks being able to run the huddle
and be composed.”
The two players competing for the quarterback position,
Rehrer and Jon Mann, both had a solid day. Rehrer completed
10-of-15 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns. Rehrer
also threw two interceptions.
“Casey’s going to be a very good quarterback
for us,” Andersen said. “He made a couple
of poor decisions, but he made a couple of great decisions,
also. I feel really good about Casey and I feel really
good about Jon. Especially for what we have thrown at
them in seven practices. It’s a lot — it’s
a heavy offense.”
Mann completed 12-of-17 passes for 106 yards and a touchdown.
“Jon has never played a snap of college football
in his life,” Andersen said. “He still makes
some mistakes here and there, but that’s expected.
I think he’s learning how to carry a team.”
Receiver A.J. Smith, a junior college All-American at
Snow College last season, had seven reception for 69 yards
and two touchdowns. Tight end Waylon Bond, a transfer
from Dixie State, also scored a touchdown.
New tailback Mike Culpepper, a transfer from Andersen’s
last school, Utah, rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Andersen said Tuesday the coaching staff would spend most
of
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Quarterback Jon Mann scans the secondary as he
scrambles during SUU’s first full scrimmage
of its spring season. Mann is competing with Dixie
State transfer Casey Rehrer and senior Brad Austin
for the starting quarterback position.
KATIE JOSLIN / UNIVERSITY JOURNAL
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Wednesday studying film from the scrimmage in order to
set up a strong depth chart.
He also said the key for spring practice is to get the players
to the point where the big plays they make are because they
beat someone, not because someone missed an assignment.
The scrimmage was also the first full-display of Andersen’s
new offensive and defensive systems. The offense features
several one-back, four-receiver spread sets, as well as
the shotgun set.
Andersen said the offense is exciting for all players, not
just those in the skill positions.
“What’s not to like?” he said. “It’s
wide open, the ball’s spread around through run and
through pass and we’re going to take what’s
there for us.”
Ashby said the offense gives everyone the opportunity to
make plays.
The team is far-along in picking up the system, Rehrer said.
“There’s a lot of kids that haven’t played
in this kind of offense, but it’s so open I think
the kids are starting to realize the scheme and realizing
the routes and it’s really coming together,”
he said. “I’ve played in this type of offense,
so it’s easier for me to pick up . . . I love it.
When the guys start catching on, it can’t be stopped.”
As for the new defense, Andersen said the players like the
aggressiveness it brings.
“I think they like the ability that, hey, we may bend
but sooner or later we’re going to make a big play,”
Andersen said. “With what we have right now that’s
what we have to do.”
Smith said the defense has a lot to work on, but the biggest
problem right now is depth in the secondary.
“We have two substitutes in the secondary,”
Smith said. “But we have the players coming in to
fill those holes.”
SUU will have another scrimmage at 10:30 a.m. Saturday,
and the annual Red/White spring game will take place April
19 at 10 a.m. |
