Lehigh kicks off spring practice segment under wintry conditions
3/20/2018 6:26:00 PM | Football
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Tuesday, March 20 marks the first day of spring and under conditions more fitting for the dead of winter, the Lehigh football team took to Frank Banko Field at the Ulrich Sports Complex for the first of 15 scheduled spring practice sessions.
Coming off back-to-back Patriot League championships, the Mountain Hawks took to the field under cold, windy conditions to kick off their on-field preparations for the 2018 campaign. Lehigh opens its spring segment with several known commodities, most notably a potent offense, led by consensus All-America running back Dominick Bragalone and first team All-Patriot League quarterback Brad Mayes.
New seasons always come with new areas for improvement. For Lehigh, that means getting better on defense, where the Mountain Hawks ranked near the bottom of the FCS in many categories. It also means developing the next generation of talent, especially on the offensive and defensive lines and at wide receiver where a number of key performers on Lehigh's recent title teams will be lost to graduation.
"I'm very excited to get the guys back on the field," said head coach Andy Coen, who begins his 13th season. "We had a great winter season with our best weight lifting session since I've been here. Now, we're going into spring practice looking at it as a developmental period. We graduated a lot of really good players and now with those guys gone, this is the opportunity for the younger kids to show the coaches what they can do.
Coen continued, "At our team meeting earlier this week my message to the guys was that they have to be focused and committed to what we're doing. They have to realize that they get 15 practices in a short period of time and they really need to take advantage of your opportunities. Everybody gets a ton of opportunities so I'm excited to see those young guys show what they can do."
Offensively, the Mountain Hawks know what they have in Mayes (3,886 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes) and Bragalone (FCS leader with 1,388 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns). The strength of the receiving corps is in the slot where Jorge Portorreal enjoyed a strong freshman season and rising senior Luke Christiano was productive before being lost for the season due to injury in game two.
Rising junior Tyler Monaco, who missed last season with an injury, and rising sophomore Addison Shoup will get plenty of reps at quarterback as they battle for the backup spot. Fifth year senior Sasha Kelsey, senior Conner Bianchini and junior Devon Bibbens all saw time at wide receiver and will have opportunities to fill the void left by the departures of Troy Pelletier and Gatlin Casey. The coaches are also high on rising sophomore Evan Chadbourn, who can be a weapon running the football and in the passing game.
Lehigh will have to replace a trio of three-year starters on the offensive line, all of whom were multiple time All-Patriot League honorees. Rising junior Alex Motley figures to have the lead to replace Zach Duffy at right tackle, while sophomores Chris Fournier and Jackson Evans saw significant playing time as freshmen and could figure in the mix at tackle and center, respectively.
"We're going to be young in the offensive line but we have enough guys who have played," Coen said. "That's going to be a developmental piece but I expect that coming out of the spring this group of offensive linemen should be pretty good and will give us a lot of depth going into the fall."
The Mountain Hawks will also have to re-establish depth on the defensive line, with the departures of Tyler Cavenas, Harrison Johnson and Jimmy Mitchell. Seniors Harrison Kauffman and Julian Lynn are the most experienced returnees, with the expectation that several of the younger players will have to step into larger roles.
Rising junior Keith Woetzel was Lehigh's top tackler a season ago and joins senior Mark Walker and sophomores Nate Norris and Pete Haffner as the leaders of the linebacker group, under the direction of new coach Mike Kashurba.
"We've tweaked some things defensively," Coen noted. "It will be a different look. Not crazy different, but with the addition of coach Kashurba, he and coach (Craig) Sutyak are doing a great job putting the plans together. They've had a lot of time together planning out what we're going to do in the spring and what we're going to do in the fall. I'm really excited about giving our defense a new look, and that has to start with our guys up front. We're looking at some new things to improve the pass rush, putting some guys is some new positions to help generate pressure on the quarterback."
In the secondary, Lehigh has a unique returning mix. Captain Sam McCloskey and cornerback Donavon Harris return after missing most of last season with injuries and will return experience along with junior Riley O'Neil, who finished second on the Mountain Hawks in tackles last season. With the injuries to McCloskey and Harris, opportunities emerged for younger players to contribute with rising junior Marquis Wilson and sophomores Jaylen Floyd and Divine Buckrham looking to continue to develop after being thrust into bigger roles last season.
One change from previous spring segments for Lehigh will be an added focus on special teams, an area where Coen feels the Mountain Hawks must improve on from 2017.
"Usually in the spring we don't start right away with our special teams, but we're going to this year on day one," Coen said. "We were not very good last year in the special teams so that's something we really need to fix."
Still, the biggest goals from Lehigh's spring segment will be to develop the talent and depth in the program and re-tooling the defense for 2018.
"The biggest thing is that my expectation will be that we will see a very different defense at the end of the spring," Coen said. "Not necessarily in terms of scheme, but in an energized unit that is going to play with a lot of emotion. We have some good young players all over the field on defense, so I'm excited to see how they develop.
"Offensively, the question for us is how we're going to do without Troy and Gatlin," Coen continued. "We also need to figure out who our backup quarterback. That's going to be an important part of what we do here."
Lehigh's 15 practice segment equates to roughly three practices a week between Tuesday and the April 21 Brown and White Spring Game.
2018 Lehigh Football Spring Practice Schedule (Subject to change)
Tuesday, March 20 – 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 22 – 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 – 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, March 27 – 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 29 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, March 30 – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 3 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, April 6 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 – 9:45 a.m.
Monday, April 9 – 4:45 p.m.
Wednesday, April 11 – 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, April 14 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, April 17 – 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, April 19 – 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, April 21 – Spring Game^ - 11 a.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.
Coming off back-to-back Patriot League championships, the Mountain Hawks took to the field under cold, windy conditions to kick off their on-field preparations for the 2018 campaign. Lehigh opens its spring segment with several known commodities, most notably a potent offense, led by consensus All-America running back Dominick Bragalone and first team All-Patriot League quarterback Brad Mayes.
New seasons always come with new areas for improvement. For Lehigh, that means getting better on defense, where the Mountain Hawks ranked near the bottom of the FCS in many categories. It also means developing the next generation of talent, especially on the offensive and defensive lines and at wide receiver where a number of key performers on Lehigh's recent title teams will be lost to graduation.
"I'm very excited to get the guys back on the field," said head coach Andy Coen, who begins his 13th season. "We had a great winter season with our best weight lifting session since I've been here. Now, we're going into spring practice looking at it as a developmental period. We graduated a lot of really good players and now with those guys gone, this is the opportunity for the younger kids to show the coaches what they can do.
Coen continued, "At our team meeting earlier this week my message to the guys was that they have to be focused and committed to what we're doing. They have to realize that they get 15 practices in a short period of time and they really need to take advantage of your opportunities. Everybody gets a ton of opportunities so I'm excited to see those young guys show what they can do."
Offensively, the Mountain Hawks know what they have in Mayes (3,886 passing yards and 31 touchdown passes) and Bragalone (FCS leader with 1,388 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns). The strength of the receiving corps is in the slot where Jorge Portorreal enjoyed a strong freshman season and rising senior Luke Christiano was productive before being lost for the season due to injury in game two.
Rising junior Tyler Monaco, who missed last season with an injury, and rising sophomore Addison Shoup will get plenty of reps at quarterback as they battle for the backup spot. Fifth year senior Sasha Kelsey, senior Conner Bianchini and junior Devon Bibbens all saw time at wide receiver and will have opportunities to fill the void left by the departures of Troy Pelletier and Gatlin Casey. The coaches are also high on rising sophomore Evan Chadbourn, who can be a weapon running the football and in the passing game.
Lehigh will have to replace a trio of three-year starters on the offensive line, all of whom were multiple time All-Patriot League honorees. Rising junior Alex Motley figures to have the lead to replace Zach Duffy at right tackle, while sophomores Chris Fournier and Jackson Evans saw significant playing time as freshmen and could figure in the mix at tackle and center, respectively.
"We're going to be young in the offensive line but we have enough guys who have played," Coen said. "That's going to be a developmental piece but I expect that coming out of the spring this group of offensive linemen should be pretty good and will give us a lot of depth going into the fall."
The Mountain Hawks will also have to re-establish depth on the defensive line, with the departures of Tyler Cavenas, Harrison Johnson and Jimmy Mitchell. Seniors Harrison Kauffman and Julian Lynn are the most experienced returnees, with the expectation that several of the younger players will have to step into larger roles.
Rising junior Keith Woetzel was Lehigh's top tackler a season ago and joins senior Mark Walker and sophomores Nate Norris and Pete Haffner as the leaders of the linebacker group, under the direction of new coach Mike Kashurba.
"We've tweaked some things defensively," Coen noted. "It will be a different look. Not crazy different, but with the addition of coach Kashurba, he and coach (Craig) Sutyak are doing a great job putting the plans together. They've had a lot of time together planning out what we're going to do in the spring and what we're going to do in the fall. I'm really excited about giving our defense a new look, and that has to start with our guys up front. We're looking at some new things to improve the pass rush, putting some guys is some new positions to help generate pressure on the quarterback."
In the secondary, Lehigh has a unique returning mix. Captain Sam McCloskey and cornerback Donavon Harris return after missing most of last season with injuries and will return experience along with junior Riley O'Neil, who finished second on the Mountain Hawks in tackles last season. With the injuries to McCloskey and Harris, opportunities emerged for younger players to contribute with rising junior Marquis Wilson and sophomores Jaylen Floyd and Divine Buckrham looking to continue to develop after being thrust into bigger roles last season.
One change from previous spring segments for Lehigh will be an added focus on special teams, an area where Coen feels the Mountain Hawks must improve on from 2017.
"Usually in the spring we don't start right away with our special teams, but we're going to this year on day one," Coen said. "We were not very good last year in the special teams so that's something we really need to fix."
Still, the biggest goals from Lehigh's spring segment will be to develop the talent and depth in the program and re-tooling the defense for 2018.
"The biggest thing is that my expectation will be that we will see a very different defense at the end of the spring," Coen said. "Not necessarily in terms of scheme, but in an energized unit that is going to play with a lot of emotion. We have some good young players all over the field on defense, so I'm excited to see how they develop.
"Offensively, the question for us is how we're going to do without Troy and Gatlin," Coen continued. "We also need to figure out who our backup quarterback. That's going to be an important part of what we do here."
Lehigh's 15 practice segment equates to roughly three practices a week between Tuesday and the April 21 Brown and White Spring Game.
2018 Lehigh Football Spring Practice Schedule (Subject to change)
Tuesday, March 20 – 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 22 – 7:15 p.m.
Saturday, March 24 – 8:15 a.m.
Tuesday, March 27 – 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 29 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, March 30 – 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, April 3 – 4:45 p.m.
Friday, April 6 – 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 7 – 9:45 a.m.
Monday, April 9 – 4:45 p.m.
Wednesday, April 11 – 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, April 14 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, April 17 – 4:45 p.m.
Thursday, April 19 – 4:45 p.m.
Saturday, April 21 – Spring Game^ - 11 a.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.
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