Mountain Hawks set to begin spring practice segment Friday
3/24/2016 2:33:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – There are plenty of positive vibes surrounding the Lehigh football program as the Mountain Hawks prepare to begin their 15-date spring practice segment on Friday. Winning the last game of the previous season will do that. The Mountain Hawks' 49-35 win over rival Lafayette last November clinched a winning season and gave Lehigh its first win over its arch rival in three years.
Despite the good feelings, there is still work to be done. Lehigh's run at a possible Patriot League championship came up five yards short in a 49-42 shootout loss at Colgate. Head coach Andy Coen begins his 11th season hoping for a productive spring that he hopes can lay the foundation for a title run in 2016.
"Winning that last game of the season just makes everybody feel so much better as we move forward," Coen said. "We had a great cycle in the weight room. Our numbers were outstanding, not only on the weights but running. We had some of our best times, some very impressive times, so I'm excited about that.
"How the season ended was great, beating Lafayette, but we still go back to being five yards away from maybe being a championship caliber team," Coen continued. "We have to work hard every day so we're accomplishing more than just getting those five yards. The kids all understand that."
In addition to the focus on strength and conditioning, Lehigh's student-athletes have been engaged with Lehigh's Leadership Academy. For the upcoming spring segment, the Mountain Hawks have set important off field goals in addition to the goals set on the field.
"A lot of our goals for the spring are related to our values," Coen said. "We want to have a team-first mentality. We want to be very competitive and really have guys understand that. We've always talked about our program being a family and we really try and emphasize that with our players and really have them understand what it is to relate with one another, not only as football players, but as people. That's a lot of what we're working on right now."
The 2015 season saw Lehigh develop a balanced, dynamic offense that led the Patriot League in total yards per game. The Mountain Hawks return quite a bit of talent and depth at the offensive skill positions. The biggest area where improvement is needed is defensively, where Lehigh must sure up a unit that allowed 451 yards and 35 points per game in 2015. Coen is confident the unit can improve in year two under the revamped system.
"On the field, we need to get better defensively and we've made some subtle changes to what we're doing defensively," Coen said. "We won't really change the scheme we're going to utilize. I thought we did a lot of positive things relative to the season before but as you go back we see a lot of things we were able to correct. The defensive staff has done a great job since the season ended coming up with some different ways to do things this year that we weren't doing last year so I feel like we'll have a better outlook there."
The Lehigh offense averaged 32 points per game and its strength was in its balance. With Patriot League Rookie of the Year Dominick Bragalone leading the way with his 1,008 yards, the Mountain Hawks averaged 188 yards per game on the ground. Lehigh averaged 274 yards passing, with quarterback Nick Shafnisky putting up solid passing and rushing numbers and freshman Brad Mayes performed well when Shafnisky was limited due to injury.
"Offensively, we really improved as the season went on," Coen stated. "We got better in the red zone. We have to continue to stay balanced. We were able to do that very well. The biggest thing we need to do offensively is protect the football. We had far too many turnovers and that hurt us, particularly early in the season.
"Protecting the football offensively and improving the defense are the two biggest goals we need to get better at this spring," Coen added.
Lehigh returns all four quarterbacks from its 2015 roster and five running backs who had carries in games last season. The Mountain Hawks also return a lot of depth at receiver led by rising junior Troy Pelletier and players like senior Trevor Socarras, who emerged last season and rising juniors Gatlin Casey and Sasha Kelsey, among others. Derek Knott is one of two Mountain Hawks expected to receive a fifth year of eligibility due to injury hardship along with rover LaQuan Lambert.
Defensively, Lehigh returns two-time All-Patriot League linebacker Colton Caslow and experienced veterans in Pierce Ripanti, Brandon Leaks and Quentin Jones in the back seven. In all, six starters on defense return. The linebacking unit will also be bolstered by two players who have changed positions. Former wide receiver Michael Anderson began working at linebacker late last season and will now work there permanently in the spring. Evan Kauffman missed all of last season due to injury and is ready to go at linebacker, where he began his Lehigh career, after shifting to fullback in 2014.
Last spring, Coen had to manage Lehigh's workload. A 30-plus player freshman class did not arrive on campus until the summer. Lehigh's numbers were much lower last spring, but that large freshman class is now a large group of rising sophomores that will have opportunities to develop in their first spring segment.
"Our numbers will be larger than last year, and even last year our numbers thinned out very quickly as we lost a couple guys early in spring practice," Coen said. "We had some days where we weren't able to do too much. I'm hoping to be a little more aggressive this year with what we can do with the guys. The spring segment is really an opportunity for the guys to get better. It is important for the younger guys who haven't been on the field a whole lot. We'll have some veteran guys who will not be ready to play, but I don't worry so much about those guys because they've gotten a lot of snaps. This really is an opportunity for young guys. First day of spring football nobody is a freshman anymore so we have to work hard with those guys and show them how this whole process goes."
One of the hot-button topics on the college football landscape is the amount of live tackling done during practices. While Lehigh does not do much, if any live tackling after training camp once it is in season, Coen says that the Mountain Hawks will work on tackling to some extent throughout the spring.
"The hard thing is you still have to tackle," Coen contends. "If you don't tackle in practice at all, then nobody knows how to tackle. You wind up with guys who have really bad form. We have to be better tacklers because we have to make sure our technique is where it needs to be."
The Mountain Hawks schedule features 13 practices leading into the annual Brown and White Spring Game at Goodman Stadium, on Saturday April 23. Lehigh will use its 15th and final spring practice date on the following Monday, April 25. At the conclusion of the spring segment, Coen hopes the Mountain Hawks will be able to make strides defensively and with their ball security, and that some of the younger players in the program can continue to improve.
"When we walk away from our 15 practices, I don't want to see a fumble on the ground," Coen said. "Ball security is more fumble-related. Even the best quarterbacks will throw interceptions. What we can control is not putting the ball on the ground. We did that way too many times last year.
"The opportunities we have to tackle when we're out there, we have to better than where we are right now," Coen continued. "I'd like to see some of these young guys develop from where they are now and be guys where we're confident enough to put them on the field."
Lehigh's tentative spring practice schedule is listed below.
2016 Lehigh Football Spring Practice Schedule
Friday, March 25 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 – 10:30 a.m.
Monday, April 28 – 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30 – 4:30 p.m.
Monday, April 4 – 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6 – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 8 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 – 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 12 – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 15 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 – 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 19 – 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 – Spring Game^ - 10 a.m.
Monday, April 25 – 4:30 p.m.
^inside Goodman Stadium
Please note that all practice dates, times and locations are subject to change due to adverse weather conditions and other factors.
Despite the good feelings, there is still work to be done. Lehigh's run at a possible Patriot League championship came up five yards short in a 49-42 shootout loss at Colgate. Head coach Andy Coen begins his 11th season hoping for a productive spring that he hopes can lay the foundation for a title run in 2016.
"Winning that last game of the season just makes everybody feel so much better as we move forward," Coen said. "We had a great cycle in the weight room. Our numbers were outstanding, not only on the weights but running. We had some of our best times, some very impressive times, so I'm excited about that.
"How the season ended was great, beating Lafayette, but we still go back to being five yards away from maybe being a championship caliber team," Coen continued. "We have to work hard every day so we're accomplishing more than just getting those five yards. The kids all understand that."
In addition to the focus on strength and conditioning, Lehigh's student-athletes have been engaged with Lehigh's Leadership Academy. For the upcoming spring segment, the Mountain Hawks have set important off field goals in addition to the goals set on the field.
"A lot of our goals for the spring are related to our values," Coen said. "We want to have a team-first mentality. We want to be very competitive and really have guys understand that. We've always talked about our program being a family and we really try and emphasize that with our players and really have them understand what it is to relate with one another, not only as football players, but as people. That's a lot of what we're working on right now."
The 2015 season saw Lehigh develop a balanced, dynamic offense that led the Patriot League in total yards per game. The Mountain Hawks return quite a bit of talent and depth at the offensive skill positions. The biggest area where improvement is needed is defensively, where Lehigh must sure up a unit that allowed 451 yards and 35 points per game in 2015. Coen is confident the unit can improve in year two under the revamped system.
"On the field, we need to get better defensively and we've made some subtle changes to what we're doing defensively," Coen said. "We won't really change the scheme we're going to utilize. I thought we did a lot of positive things relative to the season before but as you go back we see a lot of things we were able to correct. The defensive staff has done a great job since the season ended coming up with some different ways to do things this year that we weren't doing last year so I feel like we'll have a better outlook there."
The Lehigh offense averaged 32 points per game and its strength was in its balance. With Patriot League Rookie of the Year Dominick Bragalone leading the way with his 1,008 yards, the Mountain Hawks averaged 188 yards per game on the ground. Lehigh averaged 274 yards passing, with quarterback Nick Shafnisky putting up solid passing and rushing numbers and freshman Brad Mayes performed well when Shafnisky was limited due to injury.
"Offensively, we really improved as the season went on," Coen stated. "We got better in the red zone. We have to continue to stay balanced. We were able to do that very well. The biggest thing we need to do offensively is protect the football. We had far too many turnovers and that hurt us, particularly early in the season.
"Protecting the football offensively and improving the defense are the two biggest goals we need to get better at this spring," Coen added.
Lehigh returns all four quarterbacks from its 2015 roster and five running backs who had carries in games last season. The Mountain Hawks also return a lot of depth at receiver led by rising junior Troy Pelletier and players like senior Trevor Socarras, who emerged last season and rising juniors Gatlin Casey and Sasha Kelsey, among others. Derek Knott is one of two Mountain Hawks expected to receive a fifth year of eligibility due to injury hardship along with rover LaQuan Lambert.
Defensively, Lehigh returns two-time All-Patriot League linebacker Colton Caslow and experienced veterans in Pierce Ripanti, Brandon Leaks and Quentin Jones in the back seven. In all, six starters on defense return. The linebacking unit will also be bolstered by two players who have changed positions. Former wide receiver Michael Anderson began working at linebacker late last season and will now work there permanently in the spring. Evan Kauffman missed all of last season due to injury and is ready to go at linebacker, where he began his Lehigh career, after shifting to fullback in 2014.
Last spring, Coen had to manage Lehigh's workload. A 30-plus player freshman class did not arrive on campus until the summer. Lehigh's numbers were much lower last spring, but that large freshman class is now a large group of rising sophomores that will have opportunities to develop in their first spring segment.
"Our numbers will be larger than last year, and even last year our numbers thinned out very quickly as we lost a couple guys early in spring practice," Coen said. "We had some days where we weren't able to do too much. I'm hoping to be a little more aggressive this year with what we can do with the guys. The spring segment is really an opportunity for the guys to get better. It is important for the younger guys who haven't been on the field a whole lot. We'll have some veteran guys who will not be ready to play, but I don't worry so much about those guys because they've gotten a lot of snaps. This really is an opportunity for young guys. First day of spring football nobody is a freshman anymore so we have to work hard with those guys and show them how this whole process goes."
One of the hot-button topics on the college football landscape is the amount of live tackling done during practices. While Lehigh does not do much, if any live tackling after training camp once it is in season, Coen says that the Mountain Hawks will work on tackling to some extent throughout the spring.
"The hard thing is you still have to tackle," Coen contends. "If you don't tackle in practice at all, then nobody knows how to tackle. You wind up with guys who have really bad form. We have to be better tacklers because we have to make sure our technique is where it needs to be."
The Mountain Hawks schedule features 13 practices leading into the annual Brown and White Spring Game at Goodman Stadium, on Saturday April 23. Lehigh will use its 15th and final spring practice date on the following Monday, April 25. At the conclusion of the spring segment, Coen hopes the Mountain Hawks will be able to make strides defensively and with their ball security, and that some of the younger players in the program can continue to improve.
"When we walk away from our 15 practices, I don't want to see a fumble on the ground," Coen said. "Ball security is more fumble-related. Even the best quarterbacks will throw interceptions. What we can control is not putting the ball on the ground. We did that way too many times last year.
"The opportunities we have to tackle when we're out there, we have to better than where we are right now," Coen continued. "I'd like to see some of these young guys develop from where they are now and be guys where we're confident enough to put them on the field."
Lehigh's tentative spring practice schedule is listed below.
2016 Lehigh Football Spring Practice Schedule
Friday, March 25 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 26 – 10:30 a.m.
Monday, April 28 – 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30 – 4:30 p.m.
Monday, April 4 – 4:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 6 – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 8 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 9 – 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 12 – 4:30 p.m.
Friday, April 15 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 – 10:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 19 – 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 21 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 23 – Spring Game^ - 10 a.m.
Monday, April 25 – 4:30 p.m.
^inside Goodman Stadium
Please note that all practice dates, times and locations are subject to change due to adverse weather conditions and other factors.
Players Mentioned
LB
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RB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
LB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
WR
/ Football
DB
/ Football
DB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
/ Football
LB
/ Football
QB
/ Football
WR
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