Murray State University Athletics
Football Spring Practice #1
3/25/2008 5:00:00 AM | Football
The Murray State football team opened spring practice amidst chilly temperatures Tuesday morning on the turf at Stewart Stadium. Per NCAA rules, the Racers first practice was held in helmets and shorts.
"The Spring is when you form your team for the fall," said head coach Matt Griffin. "This year will be a lot different and more competitive with a little more depth. It certainly helps us more to have a little more experience. I would say there are 50 kids on that roster that have played significant reps in games which is certainly going to help us move everything forward."
"I liked this morning. We had some pretty good enthusiasm for an early morning practice, being the first one. The kids came out ready to go. I was a little displeased with five procedure penalties offensively. You can credit that to the first day and you can demand better, which we will certainly do with practice two. I liked the way we ran around. I think our team speed is as good as it has been since we have been here."
The Racers were up tempo from the outset as they went straight into conditioning and agility drills after stretching. The team then broke up into individual groups with their position coaches.
"We came out of stretch and went right into conditioning," said Griffin. "We came out running and are going to continue to do that just to get a mentality that everytime we take the field, we are going to be faster than everybody else. At least mentally faster and certainly physically faster."
The Racers offense will have a new look this season as they implement new offensive coordinator Keeth Matheny's spread offense. The team has been learning new formations and terminology since January.
"I think they had time to meet and learn a little bit," said Griffin. "I am not so much worried about that as I am with consistency, and that's what they have to get better at. I think last year we didn't come out of the gate in any one game very well and that is something we are going to pick up"
As the sun began to rise, the Racers offensive and defensive lines went head-to-head on one end of the field, while the offensive skill players went again the linebackers and secondary. The team would then come together for a brief team period.
The practice ended with a tug-of-war battle between the offensive and defensive lines, with the offense coming out victorious.
The Racers return to the practice field on Thursday morning at 5:30 a.m.
