Orange White Duel Tonight
4/18/2012 8:04:00 AM | Football
After four long weeks of working out, the Bearkats' effort in the spring culminates tonight.
With so many players back on both the offense and defense from a team that made it all the way to the Football Championship Subdivision title game in January, the Kats hope to build a foundation for the fall for another title run.
Sam Houston will get a good look at their progress as the annual Orange-White Spring Game kicks off at Bowers Stadium tonight.
"Especially for me being a physical guy and I like to hit, it'll be fun to get out there and hit some guys," linebacker Darius Taylor said.
Tonight's game will represent the closest semblance to a game the Kats have had all spring as both the offense and defense will go after one another in more than 90 live plays.
"It's not something where we're going to keep score or anything," head coach Willie Fritz said. "We're going to go 1s versus 1s and 2s versus 2s. We're going go with six-play rotations and mix in a little bit of a kicking game as well. We'll have a full complement of officials.
"The big thing we want to work on is with the 25- and 40-second clock and tackling. This will be as close as we can simulate to a game. The quarterback's not going to be live, but it's going to be as close to a game as we can."
The offense has had four weeks to work with new offensive coordinator Doug Ruse and wide receivers coach Matt Barrett, so Fritz is eager to see how the passing game and the no-huddle offense has developed.
"I'm excited that, offensively, I think we've taken a step in the right direction with throwing the football, but we can't lose our toughness and our run philosophy," the head coach said. "The toughest deal for anybody this spring has been for coach Ruse, trying to mesh what he's done with what we've done and our terminology and what we've done as well. There are some things we want to keep doing."
Even with a defense mostly intact that was one of the best units in the country across the board, the Bearkats have used their time this spring to try and develop depth and fine-tune their techniques.
"Coach (Fritz) said that if everybody gets five percent better, we'll be all right. We'll be successful and we'll win a championship. Five percent is what he's trying to preach and that's what we're trying to do," Taylor said.
"We all look pretty good. Right now, I think it's mainly about the young guys and seeing what they can do."
There will be an abundance of pregame activities before the spring game begins, including a tailgating party in the north lot of Bowers and the Bearkat Football Experience where Sam Houston students and adult fans can participate in drills with the team.
The spring game is set to begin at 7 p.m.
With so many players back on both the offense and defense from a team that made it all the way to the Football Championship Subdivision title game in January, the Kats hope to build a foundation for the fall for another title run.
Sam Houston will get a good look at their progress as the annual Orange-White Spring Game kicks off at Bowers Stadium tonight.
"Especially for me being a physical guy and I like to hit, it'll be fun to get out there and hit some guys," linebacker Darius Taylor said.
Tonight's game will represent the closest semblance to a game the Kats have had all spring as both the offense and defense will go after one another in more than 90 live plays.
"It's not something where we're going to keep score or anything," head coach Willie Fritz said. "We're going to go 1s versus 1s and 2s versus 2s. We're going go with six-play rotations and mix in a little bit of a kicking game as well. We'll have a full complement of officials.
"The big thing we want to work on is with the 25- and 40-second clock and tackling. This will be as close as we can simulate to a game. The quarterback's not going to be live, but it's going to be as close to a game as we can."
The offense has had four weeks to work with new offensive coordinator Doug Ruse and wide receivers coach Matt Barrett, so Fritz is eager to see how the passing game and the no-huddle offense has developed.
"I'm excited that, offensively, I think we've taken a step in the right direction with throwing the football, but we can't lose our toughness and our run philosophy," the head coach said. "The toughest deal for anybody this spring has been for coach Ruse, trying to mesh what he's done with what we've done and our terminology and what we've done as well. There are some things we want to keep doing."
Even with a defense mostly intact that was one of the best units in the country across the board, the Bearkats have used their time this spring to try and develop depth and fine-tune their techniques.
"Coach (Fritz) said that if everybody gets five percent better, we'll be all right. We'll be successful and we'll win a championship. Five percent is what he's trying to preach and that's what we're trying to do," Taylor said.
"We all look pretty good. Right now, I think it's mainly about the young guys and seeing what they can do."
There will be an abundance of pregame activities before the spring game begins, including a tailgating party in the north lot of Bowers and the Bearkat Football Experience where Sam Houston students and adult fans can participate in drills with the team.
The spring game is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Today: Orange-White Spring Football Game, Bowers Stadium, 7 p.m.
Tailgating party: Free food for fans in Bearkat Alley, 5:30 p.m.
Bearkat Football Experience: SHSU students and adult fans can participate in drills with the team on the Bowers Stadium turf, 6 p.m.
Players Mentioned
LB
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