ELON, N.C. – Nearly halfway through its scheduled spring practice period, Elon football head coach Rich Skrosky gave his thoughts on the progress the Phoenix has made. 

Skrosky on the progress he's seen this spring:
"I think we're making the strides I was hoping we'd make. We had our first scrimmage on Saturday, and I thought there was some good teaching out of it. Some younger guys are starting to step up a little bit. Hopefully, as we finish here, the execution part continues to improve with each practice."

Skrosky on Saturday's scrimmage:
"Inconsistency was the biggest thing. I'm not sure, defensively, if we were in the right frame of mind and the offense took advantage of that. Then the offense had some unforced errors. I didn't think the defense forced a ton, but they forced some of them. It was good to see on defense that we stepped up in some situations. Chris Blair had an interception. And then we had three really good three-and-outs. We got some good special teams and red zone work in. We had officials here. For the first scrimmage, it was decent and executed pretty cleanly."

Skrosky on the consistency in the defensive system:
"For guys like John Silas, it has really helped a lot. The continuity makes it so much easier. The whole off-season, they've been able to study film from last year and learn from their mistakes. For the older guys, they're reacting much faster to things they see. Last year there may have been some hesitancy."

Skrosky on possible unknown players to watch:
"Cordell Forrest has had a really good spring so far. I've been really impressed by him. He's a guy we red-shirted last year. He's gotten a little bigger and a little stronger, but, more than anything, the attitude that he had in high school, he has brought this spring. He's really focused, confident, locked in and helping his teammates. At linebacker, Bruno Anyangwe was still kind of learning the first week, but he's had a couple of good days. I've been pleased with him. Up front, Jack Williams went through an injury last year. And Daniel Everett just finished today's practice with a good interception. That's his third of the spring. On offense, Tre Lennon has had a really good spring. I know he played a lot last year, but his game has really improved. Corey Joyner, for a kid that should still be in high school, I think he'll be a really good player for us. Olisaemeka Udoh has ability. He's still learning the game and every day it's something new. There are not a lot of 6-5, 350-pound kids. And he's still 17 years old. He's got the best vertical jump of our offensive linemen. His vertical jump is 32 inches. B.J. Bennett had a nice day. I know he's a guy who's been around. He's had a nice spring. The last few practices, Connor Christiansen has done a nice job. I've been pretty pleased with him."

Upcoming 2015 Elon Phoenix Spring Football Practice Schedule
Wednesday, April 15 – 3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 17 – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 18 – 10 a.m. (Rhodes Stadium)
Monday, April 20 – 3:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 22 – 3:30 p.m.
Friday, April 24 – 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 25 – 7 p.m. Spring Game (Rhodes Stadium)