Blue Raiders wrap up first week of drills

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee put a wrap on the first week of spring football practice with a live tackling session on Saturday morning. The team went through 23 periods of work inside Floyd Stadium for its coolest practice all week at 60 degrees.

“We competed at a high level today and showed a lot of enthusiasm and energy,” said Head Coach Rick Stockstill. “It was the first time this spring we had live tackling and I thought we tackled well. As a team, we still have to execute better but that has a lot to do with us still implementing our schemes. That should improve next week.”

Stockstill feels his practices are much more productive and he is able to get more work in due to the energy level and activeness of the coaching staff.

“All week we have been getting in more work because of our pace and tempo,” added Stockstill. “We are getting in about 200 snaps a practice and that’s a lot of work.

Stockstill and his staff have been pleased with the first five days of spring drills as younger guys are competing better and veterans are stepping in to take leadership roles.

“I like the direction our team is headed,” Stockstill said. “Our focus is to be more physical and the team is buying into our message that began in January. You have to compete to win every play and every drill and that is what we are instilling in our players.”

The Blue Raiders will take the rest of the weekend off before returning to the field on Tuesday. The team will also work on Friday and Saturday next week.

Spring drills will conclude on April 14 with the annual Blue-White Scrimmage at 1 PM inside Floyd Stadium.

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