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March 25, 2005
OXFORD, Ohio--With the sounds of construction equipment and progress emanating from the Yager Stadium Complex, Miami University's football program began laying a foundation of its own this week, kicking off the spring season with its first three practices and giving a revamped coaching staff its first good look at the RedHawks in action.
After two blustery days in shorts and sweats, the Red and White donned the pads for the first time Thursday and enjoyed its first contact of the year. According to head coach Shane Montgomery, who led his team out onto the practice field for the first time Tuesday, the team is off to a fast start, bolstered by a large contingent of veteran players.
"The first three days went well," Montgomery said. "Because we have such a veteran team, we can throw a lot at them in a hurry and retention is good. We're going to continue trying to get as much installed on both sides of the ball as we can while looking for more consistency."
While the RedHawks return 15 starters from the offensive and defensive side of the ball, which ultimately provides the foundation for the 2005 campaign, Miami's coaching staff also has a well-trained eye on the future, as a number of reserves combine with a large class of redshirt freshmen and other relative newcomers in an effort to work their way onto the depth chart and into the future plans of the program. According to Montgomery, this development of depth is the lifeblood of the program's future.
"The younger guys are really getting a chance to step up and make this a better team," Montgomery said. "We need to find depth on both sides of the ball, especially the offensive and defensive lines. We're also giving a good look to three or four running backs who have tremendous physical abilities but need to prove they can be effective on the field."
Another position group lending a glimpse into the future is wide receiver. While Martin Nance appears to be making a remarkable recovery from a season-ending injury a year ago, the senior, who has been running routes, is being held out of contact drills. Also limited are 2004 leading wide receiver Ryne Robinson, who is competing with the baseball team and not available for all practices, and Josh Williams, who is recovering from an injury. Some of the names emerging at the position this spring include junior Marcus Tate, who has impressed on a couple of deep routes, as well as sophomore Patrick O'Bryan and freshmen Sean McVay and Dustin Woods.
The defensive side of the ball has been headlined by the return of defensive coordinator Taver Johnson's trademark intensity. According to the former linebacker coach, despite spending a season away from Oxford, it feels like he never left.
"As far as being out here on the football field, it feels like I never left," Johnson said. "The biggest change has been seeing how the guys who were sophomores when I was here in 2003 have grown up into seniors. It's also been a bit of an adaption to see the new scoreboard and all the construction going on around the field."
With one of the MAC's top returning defenses and a veteran core to build around, Johnson has identified three goals for the defense early in spring camp.
"First of all, we want to focus on stopping the run," Johnson said. "This is a huge emphasis for us, because we need to make our opponents one-dimensional. Secondly, and this goes hand and hand with everything else we're trying to do, we want to concentrate on fundamentals and techniques. Finally, we want to put a real emphasis on creating turnovers. If we can get our offense the ball, they will put a lot of points on the board for us."
Every turnover created by the RedHawk defense in spring practice has been greeted with a raucous celebration that is representative of the overall intensity demonstrated by the defense so far. According to Johnson, the elevated intensity level is a good sign.
"We want to see intensity and enthusiasm out there," Johnson said. "Any time we can go out there and play at a high intensity level and have fun while doing it, it's going to make us a better at what we do."
With three more practices before the first scrimmage on Saturday, April 2, Montgomery wants to see the team getting as many reps as possible.
"We're going to continue to throw as much in as we can," Montgomery said. "We want to get the base offense and defense installed and give the guys a chance to learn by experience. After the first scrimmage we'll have seven or eight more practices to concentrate on the individuals and add in some wrinkles."
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