“There are still some things we want to look at on offense this spring,” Elson said. “But, we went into this month wanting to get back to the basics on both sides of the ball — it has just been at a slower pace with the defense.”
Two of WKU’s first four practices were in helmets, while the last pair of workouts have been with light contact. Following the 3rd Annual Breakout Coaches Clinic — which will feature former Topper great and current Cleveland Browns head coach Romeo Crennel — Friday, WKU will take part in its first mini-scrimmage of the spring to conclude Saturday’s 2 p.m. (CST) workout.
Elson’s goal is to see how the Toppers execute in their first full-contact opportunity of the spring. In addition to working with regular downs, Saturday’s mini-scrimmage will also focus on third-down plays and red zone situations.
“We want to give guys an opportunity to step up and make plays,” said Elson. “It will be their first chance this spring to do that in a situation similar to game day with referees and no coaches on the field.”
“I think our focus has been good so far, but you can see that the guys are anxious to play ‘live’ football,” he added. “There have been some injuries that affected our work today, a lot of guys had to take more reps than we planned and you could see that they weren’t ready to carry the pads for that many plays — especially with the way it has warmed up.”
The Hilltoppers will have one more mini-scrimmage prior to the their first full scrimmage of the month, which will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 14 at Smith Stadium.
