The first day of spring football hardly felt like spring as Marshall trotted out on the turf of Joan C. Edwards Stadium Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures topped out around 40 degrees and a mix of rain, sleet, and snow greeted the Thundering Herd but the winter weather didn’t distract from the task at hand.
Most of the players are the same but most of the coaches are not. Players and coaches were feeling each other out during the first day of practice. Even though Tuesday was the first time on the field, coaches and players have had a chance to get to know one another and make expectations clear.
“We’ve had the opportunity to coach these guys in about 18 different sessions and by the time they got to practice they’d been around their coaches,” said head coach Doc Holliday.
Holliday was forced to revamp his staff during he offseason after assistants left for better opportunities, returned home or simply resigned. Tuesday was the first chance to see the new assistants in action.
“It was fun to see those guys work and you watch Coach (Chuck) Heater and Coach (Adam) Fuller with J.C. (Price) and Sean (Cronin) out there it was fun to watch,” said Holliday.
New defensive coordinator Chuck Heater is trying to implement a new system and drastically improve The Herd’s porous defense. He and new assistants Adam Fuller, Sean Cronin, Adam Fuller, along with returners Todd Hartley and J.C. Price put the defense through its paces.
“They kind of had an idea of what was going, we had a lot of new things happening and you see guys that have a little bit of football about them,” said Heater after one practice.
On offense, receiver Tommy Shuler had nothing but glowing assessments of his new position coach, Mike Furrey.
“He’s a great coach,” said Shuler. “I feel like he’s going to push me harder and knows what it takes to get to the next level.”
It’s a process for coaches to learn about each player, his personality, and what makes him tick. Players also have to learn the coaches’ personalities and eventually they may even start to take on their coaches’ personalities. That’s why these 15 practices are so valuable ahead of the 2013 season.
“You’ve only got 15 opportunities in the spring and you sure can’t waste one and if you don’t go out there and take advantage you won’t get to where you want to go,” asserted Holliday.
Holliday’s hope is by the end of April there’s no more mention of the new coaching staff and getting to know one another. By the end of spring ball everybody should be on the same page.
Marshall will be back out on the field Thursday afternoon.