Amid shouts of “Get perfect! Get perfect!” from the coaching staff, Mary Hardin-Baylor went through its first football practice of the season on Tuesday.
The Crusaders, who are preseason ranked No. 4 in NCAA Division III, had 185 players on the field for the first of four workouts in shorts before putting on pads for the first time on Saturday.
Tuesday’s session was moved from the natural grass of UMHB’s on-campus practice fields to the synthetic surface of Tiger Field at Belton High School due to rain, making for somewhat cramped conditions.
“It was kind of tough to work this many guys on one field,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “We didn’t get as many repetitions, but we’ll pick it up.”
After about two hours of position-specific instruction, players were put through conditioning sessions they call “boot camp” - a series of high-energy drills focusing on speed, agility and endurance.
“You can be in shape, but you’re never really ready for it when it comes,” said junior running back Quincy Daniels, who rushed for more 1,500 yards last season. “You just have to make sure that you’re doing everything at full speed whether you’re dead-tired or fresh.”
With 10 starters (three offensive, seven defensive) back from last year’s squad that went 12-2 and advanced to the national semifinals, the Crusaders have some holes to fill. But they also feel they have the personnel to reload.
“Every year, the coaches say, ‘This is the best group of newcomers we’ve ever brought in,’” said senior Derrick Williams, a preseason All-American at free safety. “After going through the first day, I’m kind of leaning toward the coaches’ word on this one.
“The new guys look good, especially some of the transfers like Rashon Lewis and Jonathan Woods. I think those guys are really going to be the missing piece to the puzzle.”
Woods is a transfer running back from South Carolina State, and Lewis - who signed with Arkansas-Pine Bluff out of high school, then played at Mount St. Joseph and McMurry before transferring to UMHB - is part of a four-way battle for the starting quarterback’s job.
Lewis, Baylor transfer Matt Hurst and returning players Josh Saenz and Kyle Noack will get a chance to earn the job.
“It’s going to take a while for one of those guys to really emerge,” Fredenburg said. “It’s going to take through the two scrimmages, and it might even go into the season before one really comes out.”
And what is it that the coaching staff is looking for in a quarterback?
“The thing that we have missed is the guy who can make something happen when things start to break down,” Fredenburg said. “If you get great protection and good routes and you’ve got time, we expect you to make that play.
“But when all of the sudden things start crumbling and a guy can make something happen, then that’s the key to what we’re looking for.”
