Pumped to be back
3/22/2012 7:39:00 AM | Football
The Bearkats ended their first day of spring football singing "Happy Birthday" to cornerback Daxton Swanson, who turned 21 on Wednesday.
Swanson was a huge part of Sam Houston State's success last season, leading the team with eight interceptions and returning them for a total of 117 yards. He was also named to the 2011 Associated Press NCAA Division I FCS All-America squad.
Just like his teammates, Swanson was happy to get back on the field.
"It's been a good day, enjoying coming back here being around the fellas, teammates and coaches," Swanson said. "Just being out here to play football again is a blessing, so I'm just happy to be out here."
Bearkats quarterback Brian Bell was also glad to be at the first spring practice, since it was his first time on the field with new offensive coordinator Doug Ruse. Bell is entering his junior season with the Kats, who won 14 games in a row and reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
Bell threw for 1,954 yards for 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions last season running Bob DeBesse's offense.
"It's always great to get back and put a helmet on again, get out here and start fresh and start new," Bell said following Wednesday's practice. "Our offensive mind was just to try and be consistent today because we got this new offense we're trying to get under our belts right now. So we know it's not going to be perfect, but it's a work in progress right now so we're just trying to stay positive."
The Kats can't afford to have any championship run hangovers, since they will do different things schematically on both offense and defense, while still trying to remain consistent with what made them so successful last season.
"We're going to have to start learning with each other," Bell said. "We're going to have to ask each other questions, ask the coaches questions. It's a work in progress right now, so we're sticking with it."
Wide receiver and "wild Bearkat" formation specialist Richard Sincere is expected to become a threat as a passer, just as he is as a runner and receiver, but he's not sure how the new offensive scheme will utilize him because of the newness of it all.
"As of right now, we're just trying to install our base offense," Sincere said. "So I really don't know how much I'll be used as the role I played last year. I've been working in a little bit, but for right now we're just trying to install our stuff as a unit and once we do that, he'll start working me in.
"Everybody is just excited to get back because we're excited to be playing football. We're really looking forward to learning our new system, getting used to our new coaches and how they want things run. So we're just looking forward to bigger and better things."
Sam Houston returns to practice on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
Swanson was a huge part of Sam Houston State's success last season, leading the team with eight interceptions and returning them for a total of 117 yards. He was also named to the 2011 Associated Press NCAA Division I FCS All-America squad.
Just like his teammates, Swanson was happy to get back on the field.
"It's been a good day, enjoying coming back here being around the fellas, teammates and coaches," Swanson said. "Just being out here to play football again is a blessing, so I'm just happy to be out here."
Bearkats quarterback Brian Bell was also glad to be at the first spring practice, since it was his first time on the field with new offensive coordinator Doug Ruse. Bell is entering his junior season with the Kats, who won 14 games in a row and reached the NCAA Division I Football Championship Game.
Bell threw for 1,954 yards for 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions last season running Bob DeBesse's offense.
"It's always great to get back and put a helmet on again, get out here and start fresh and start new," Bell said following Wednesday's practice. "Our offensive mind was just to try and be consistent today because we got this new offense we're trying to get under our belts right now. So we know it's not going to be perfect, but it's a work in progress right now so we're just trying to stay positive."
The Kats can't afford to have any championship run hangovers, since they will do different things schematically on both offense and defense, while still trying to remain consistent with what made them so successful last season.
"We're going to have to start learning with each other," Bell said. "We're going to have to ask each other questions, ask the coaches questions. It's a work in progress right now, so we're sticking with it."
Wide receiver and "wild Bearkat" formation specialist Richard Sincere is expected to become a threat as a passer, just as he is as a runner and receiver, but he's not sure how the new offensive scheme will utilize him because of the newness of it all.
"As of right now, we're just trying to install our base offense," Sincere said. "So I really don't know how much I'll be used as the role I played last year. I've been working in a little bit, but for right now we're just trying to install our stuff as a unit and once we do that, he'll start working me in.
"Everybody is just excited to get back because we're excited to be playing football. We're really looking forward to learning our new system, getting used to our new coaches and how they want things run. So we're just looking forward to bigger and better things."
Sam Houston returns to practice on Friday at 3:30 p.m.
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