ELON, N.C. -- We had our final practice before the spring game this afternoon in helmets in Rhodes Stadium. The NCAA requires that three of the 15 allowable practices are non-contact and this session fell into that category. Showers this morning tapered off and we were able to get 24 periods in with partly sunny conditions.

 

Ten of our 14 sessions so far this spring have been held in the stadium and I am impressed with how well the turf on McKinnon Field has held up. It is hard to tell that we have used the field at all this spring. The quality of this grass field is unsurpassed and we tend to get solid practice sessions in when we use it.

 

Since we were only in helmets, today was a great day for our defense to dedicate time to defending the option. Slowing down these triple option attacks requires much more time and repetitions than a short game week will allow. Rising senior safety Brett McQuilkin has done a great job over the last few years serving as our scout team option quarterback. Whether it is in drills or a full team period, we always tell the players that the quality of the looks we get are the key to successful preparation.

 

While our defense prepared for the likes of Wofford, Georgia Southern and The Citadel, our offense rehearsed the two-minute drill, picked up blitzes and ran several screen passes. Timing and execution are important ingredients to a successful offense. Some younger players are slowly becoming more comfortable with their roles within the offense as they get more repetitions. There is a lot of competition for playing time at wide receiver and that will likely continue into preseason camp.

 

Our special teams units continued to spend quality time on basic fundamentals that should carry us through next season. Today's emphasis was punt pressure, kickoff coverage and punt protection. We have a solid nucleus of players who have demonstrated daily that they understand the specific techniques that will allow them to be successful as well as the "big picture" of how we operate in the kicking game. We often refer to these concepts as "The Elon Way."

 

At the end of today's session, we split the team into Maroon and White squads in order to prepare for Saturday's scrimmage. Similar to our Friday walk throughs during the season, we wanted to make sure that everyone knows their roles in order to have a successful spring game. The players are clearly excited that our depth and injuries have held up in order to have a "game" rather than an offense versus defense scrimmage.

 

We hope to see many fans in attendance on Saturday as we close out the spring season. Personally, I am looking forward to seeing who will step up when the lights go on and the crowd rolls in. It should be interesting!

 

Pete Lembo

Head Football Coach