BSU football kicks off spring ball
It's only been two and a half months since the end of the 2007 Boise State football season, but for the BSU players and coaches it has been an eternity. With spring football practice kicking off this past Monday the construction of the 2008 Bronco football team is in full swing.
This year's spring schedule will give BSU coaches a month to make assessments on players, both new and old, before leaving for summer vacation. It will also give everyone an opportunity to start refocusing after a less than ideal finish last season.
"It's a little bit of a different atmosphere around here," senior receiver Vinny Perretta said. "It is definitely getting back to that blue collar mentality and having to earn everything. That's what we're working towards right now, getting that conference title back."
Aside from a month of practices, BSU will hold two scrimmages, one on March 21 and the other April 4. Spring ball will conclude with the annual Spring Game on April 11.
In that time the Broncos will look to start answering many of this season's questions, from the offensive line to the defensive secondary and who will be the new starting quarterback? Regardless of whether those voids are filled by newcomers or veterans, however, the process will be long and arduous.
"The first couple days won't be as fast as you hope just because you've got younger guys learning plays and what not," Perretta said. "But in spring ball, as you get further down the road, the tempo's going to pick up a lot."
Perretta and the other veterans will be called upon to help shorten that learning curve for the new comers. One player who is expected to make a big impact is standout running back Ian Johnson. Although he didn't participate as much as hoped last spring due to injuries, Ian Johnson is back in full strength and looking to lead the way back to a WAC championship.
"It will be good having Ian running around," Perretta said. "We've got some good talent at the running back position this year. Ian's obviously going to be the leader in that core crew because he's been the man for the past two years. It will be good for the younger guys to see how he works." Defensively, the Broncos will be led by an experienced line backing corps and defensive line. Senior linebacker Dallas Dobbs said that aside from their responsibilities to be leaders, the upperclassmen are also working to continually improve themselves.
"Your expectations for success change a little bit," Dobbs said. "You set your goals a little bit higher. Your work ethic pretty much stays the same. Every guy that's out there works hard to get on the field, so you hope that some of these young guys don't beat you out."
While spring ball holds great importance for next season, kick off to the 2008 regular season is still months away. That means that the memory of the lost 2007 WAC championship will have plenty of time to resonate even more.
"The [2007] record wasn't that bad, but that's not our standard at all," senior defensive end Mike T. Williams said. "Our standards are way higher than that. I think we just need to get back and start grinding like old Boise State football and be champions like we normally are."
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