CUP Football Two Weeks into Spring Practice

| April 16, 2017

CUP Spring Practice
CLARION, Pa. – With week two of spring practice for the Clarion football team in the books, the Blue and Gold are getting their first looks at how some of the positional battles will shake out in the buildup to next season.

Progression has been slower in some areas of the team than in others, however, head coach Chris Weibel is still happy with the progress being made by CU in their first few days back on the field at Memorial Stadium.

“The defense is really clicking right now,” Weibel said. “Last week, they created a lot of turnovers and had a lot of takeaways, so they’re doing a good job. Offensively, I think we need to focus a little bit more because we’ve got some young guys going through it on offense right now.”

The Golden Eagles offense will have some major positional battles going on this summer, with open spots at quarterback and running back among the most hotly contested. However, one area where CU already has the luxury of experience will be on the offensive line.

Clarion returns nearly all of its offensive linemen from the previous campaign, including a number of key pieces that were already full-time starters in 2016.

“Any time you can have experience on the offensive line, it helps your entire offense a ton,” Weibel said. “It’s an area that we do have a little bit of experience in with some of the guys that are returning, plus we’re hoping that some of our new guys can come in and challenge for those spots too and compete.”

Most of those new recruits won’t make their way to Clarion for another few months, which means that offensive line coach Steven Baisey will get an extended look at his current roster in the spring before the influx of new blood begins in the summer.

“We have lower numbers right now, so guys are getting a lot of reps in practice,” Baisey said. “But everyone is out here competing and going hard every day, and they’re getting a good opportunity to slate themselves in for next year which is really exciting for them.”

And while those extra reps are an advantage in the spring, come training camp those spots are all still wide open. With talent, depth, and a healthy level of competition, the Golden Eagles offensive line is shaping up to be a major force in 2017.

“We have a lot of experience up front, with three or four guys that were full-time starters last year,” Baisey said. “[Zack] Morris was an all-region guy for us, and Robbie [Korzon] and Andrew Vonada played a good bit last year too. So we’ve got some experience coming back which I’m excited for, because when camp hits there’s going to be a lot of competition for spots.”


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