The Morehead State football program opens spring practices this week. The Eagles are scheduled for 14 on-field sessions in the next two months, leading up to the spring game at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 11. Workouts begin Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Jayne Stadium.
The program returns 16 starters from 2014, including nine of defense and seven on offense. Three special teams' players also return. Morehead State also added five assistants to its coaching staff in the offseason.
"We are excited to get on the field and evaluate where we are," Head Coach Rob Tenyer said. "The spring is a time for us to tinker with new ideas on both sides of the ball and make sure our players are in the best shape and mindset when we come back in the fall. We have new coaches, so there will be adjustments, but the thing that is most exciting is knowing we have so many starters returning. Practice one and two should be very good because those are the days that should be a lot of review and we can put our 'bread and butter' ideas in."
On defense, Dontae Wright has been promoted to coordinator, with former Eagle standout Zack Moore leading the linebackers now. New hire John Perin will mentor the defensive backs and special teams, and fellow newcomer Adam Mueller will assist Wright with the defensive line. Former MSU defensive stalwart Wes McDermott returns to assist with the backs.
"I think it is important we establish an identity on defense right away," Tenyer said. "There will be some changes as we move forward. We have to get the players in the right positions to be successful."
MSU returns its top three tacklers from 2014. Senior linebacker Luke Keller (87 TT, 11.5 TFL), junior safety Brandon Louder (65 TT, 3 PBU) and senior cornerback Justin Grier (59 TT, 2 INT) all are back. Ten other significant starters or contributors are here for the spring.
On offense, Craig Mullins is back as coordinator, joined on that side of the ball by former Eagle signal caller Zach Lewis, who was promoted to quarterbacks coach. Tenyer will mentor the wide receivers. Patrick St. Louis continues to lead the offensive line and is now the recruiting coordinator, and Andre Crenshaw (running backs) and Jameson Stephens (assistant wide receivers) joined the staff recently.
"Our offense has been very good for the past few years, and we want to continue to improve and maintain high energy on that side of the ball. We are going to try a few new ideas and run a lot of our schemes out of a lot more formations this year,” Tenyer said.
Junior quarterback Austin Gahafer (2,840 yds, 23 TDs) is back to lead the unit, while three starting offensive linemen return. Seniors Todd DeWoody and Alex Hey and junior C.J. Phillips were mainstays in the trenches last year. Leading receiver Jake Raymond (697 yds, 6 TDS), now a junior, is back along with seniors Kitaro Lewis (wide receiver) and Jon Moore (offensive line), who missed 2014 with injuries.
On special teams, junior punter Pat DiSalvio (37.7 yds/punt) is back, along with senior long snapper Jakey Dunagan. First-Team All-Pioneer League return specialist Justin Cornwall (101.9 all-purpose yds/game), a fifth-year senior, returns as well.
The spring practice schedule is listed below (all workouts are at Jayne Stadium)
Wednesday, March 11 - 3:30-6 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 12 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 24 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Thursday, March 26 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Friday, March 27 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 - 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Tuesday, March 31 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Thursday, April 2 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Friday, April 3 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Saturday, April 4 - 10:30 a.m. scrimmage
Tuesday, April 7 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Wednesday, April 8 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Thursday, April 9 - 3:30-6 p.m.
Friday, April 10 - 3:30-5 p.m.
Saturday, April 11 - SPRING GAME - 6 p.m.
