JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman head football coach Ken Sparks opens up his 36th period of spring practice at Mossy Creek searching for two things from his team – heart and fundamentals.
The Eagles are fresh off a 7-3 finish where they missed out on a third playoff appearance in three years. Sparks said a lack of heart and a little blocking and tackling could have made a difference in those three losses last season. Hence, that's what the program will focus on in the spring.
"I would think that growth as a team is the most important thing this spring practice period," Sparks said. "You can't be a very good team if you don't have people that are willing to give all they got. We'll continue to emphasize that. We lost some people who couldn't or weren't willing to do that. I really believe that we've got a good-hearted team now. When you've got good-hearted kids you can cover up some of the deficiencies in inches, pounds and split seconds."
Carson-Newman began its spring practice period Sunday; however, the Eagles didn't practice Monday or Tuesday because of the inclement weather bracketing East Tennessee.
Spring practice culminates with the annual Orange v. Blue spring game Thursday, March 5. However, Sparks indicated that date may be pushed back pending the continuation of the poor weather hitting the area.
The Eagles will look to find someone to fill the shoes of running back and Harlon Hill Trophy finalist Andy Hibbett (Corryton, Tenn.) and first team All-America offensive lineman Robby Ignagni (Gallatin, Tenn.).
C-N does return senior quarterback De'Andre Thomas (Milledgeville, Ga.) who has a shot at topping Alex Good's career total offense record. However, Sparks said that chase won't happen if the offensive line can't get a good push and the Eagles' defense can't get stops.
"Number two is to be fundamentally sound and better with blocking and tackling," Sparks said. "It's a lot of teaching basics like stance and alignment. You work on leverage and working on playing behind your shoulder pads and having enough gumption to put the helmet on the ball as a tackler."
Defensively, the Eagles must replace their entire front four. David Way, Johnson Jamison, William Alderman and Javaris Neal all graduate.
"We've got some lineman and linebackers who we think will be very important to us," Sparks said. "So we'll have to build those who are in into more significant players this spring. Then we'll be filling in some soft spots as we continue toward the fall. Linebacker and d-line are definitely places where we need to find people."
For more updates on Carson-Newman football spring practice, check cneagles.com regular and follow @cnathletics on Twitter.
