With three days away from the practice field it gave head coach Denver Johnson and his staff an opportunity to evaluate the team and make some adjustments heading into the fifth practice of the spring on Thursday.
The Redbirds took the field in full pads and the offense padded its rushing stats against the defense. The Birds also had success through the air as junior transfer B.J. McCaslin connected with Avery Massengale for a 40-yard touchdown strike during the team session.
I thought it was good to get them out on the field (last week) and take a couple of days off to let the coaches get caught up on grading and evaluating the film, Johnson said. This gave us an opportunity to tweak some things and weve asked Barry Hartman to come over the offensive side of the ball and I think that will prove to be a favorable move.
Hartman saw action in all 12 games at defensive line last season, but will see action for the remainder of the spring at offensive tackle. In addition to a position shift, Johnson was also able to evaluate the progress after the first week.
The first week was about what you would think it would be trying to get everything inserted, Johnson said. For the veteran guys it was fairly boring, but we do have some new guys out here and it was probably overwhelming to them. We put in a lot of stuff in those four days. I was pleased with the recall and retention of our veteran guys and our newcomers did a good job catching on as well.
In addition to the learning curve, Johnson has had to deal with injury this spring particularly at the tight end position. Senior Steve Statz dislocated his left shoulder in the third practice and redshirt freshman Clint Keller sprained his medial collateral ligament the following day. Despite the injuries, senior Mike Larson has been able to showcase his talents at the H-back position, a hybrid of the tight end and full back.
Mike Larson is one of the bright spots of spring right now, Johnson said. Statz has the shoulder that has popped out on him before and hell be back. Weve got to make a decision at some point and time if that is something that we are going to be able to manage at tight end or are we going to have to move him to an offensive line position. It was might be a little more conducive to keep him healthy.
Clints injury wasnt as bad as we first thought and hell be fine for the fall, Johnson said. We continue to be excited about him. We asked Jake Weber our long snapper to lineup and learn the tight end position as well. He will give us some added depth since he will travel as the snapper. Right now were a little banged up, but thank goodness we dont have to play until September.
The Birds will return to the field on Friday for practice No. 6 at 3:30 p.m.
CAMP NOTES: Freshman Amir Thompson will miss the remainder of spring practice after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Tight end Clint Keller will likely be done this spring with a sprained medial collateral ligament.
