IU football team returns to Memorial Stadium field to begin spring practice

While the pads stayed off the field in Memorial Stadium on Saturday, the IU football team was on it for its first of 15 spring practices.

The players have participated in a number of offseason workouts that include drills without football equipment, due to NCAA rules. The players still aren’t in full football uniforms, but rising senior defensive tackle Larry Black Jr. said that won’t stop him from enjoying the beginning of the spring football season.

“We still don’t have pads on,” Black said. “We’re out there in underwear, but it’s great.”

Rising junior receiver Kofi Hughes also said the outdoor practices are welcome.

“It’s a long winter without coaches around and practice without the ball,” Hughes said.

The coaching staff is also a little different emerging from the winter months, as Seth Littrell is now the offensive coordinator and Jon Fabris is the new defensive
ends coach.

Hughes said major offensive changes to the team won’t be made, but quarterback play now has a difference from this past season’s
spring practice.

He said the wide receivers and rising sophomore quarterback Tre Roberson, who developed into the starter in the fall, are communicating much better than they were last year.

“A lot of the time, we’re thinking the same thing now, which back then we were all guessing,” Hughes said. “Now, we’re all on the same page now that we’ve had a winter to work together.”

IU Coach Kevin Wilson said there is an emphasis on developing key players such as Roberson and Hughes into leaders inside and outside of Memorial Stadium.

“I think we’re putting some men in place just to have a better leadership capacity off the field, in the locker room, in workouts, in the classroom and off-the-field settings,” Wilson said. “It sounds good. It seems good, but until you get some really good adversity, you don’t know if it’s really good, too.”

Black, who said he is embracing his new role as one of the older, more experienced players, said there is a noticeable difference in the way some of the players are giving a full commitment to the team.

“It’s good to see because I kind of didn’t see it last year,” Black said. “I wanted to see it, but I kind of didn’t see it, but when I look around now, I see guys loving it and just enjoying it, and that’s want we want.”

Both Hughes and Black said the taste of IU’s most recent game, a 33-25 loss to Purdue on Nov. 26, 2011, is still fresh in the mouths of the players. Black said he is looks forward to taking back the Old Oaken Bucket on Purdue’s field.

Hughes said the coaching staff’s system during the 2011 spring camp was new to all the players, but now, they have gotten the hang of the coaches.

He said there is no reason why the team can’t not only take the Bucket back but advance to postseason play.

“Everybody’s just a lot more hungry,” Hughes said. “No one’s really a freshman anymore, and there’s no more excuses, and everybody’s really hungry to get the Bucket back and go to a bowl game.”