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Defense dominates in Spring Game

(04/29/15 4:19pm)

Throughout spring practice, the Elon University football team has seen the number of players in camp dwindle — especially on the defensive end. This is, in part, because of graduating seniors, as well as some injured players. For the players who are still at Elon and are still participating in spring practices, the lack of depth means an increase in practice time for other players. At the spring football game on Saturday night, the defense shone brightest at Rhodes Stadium, as the 6-3 final score showed that the increased reps are paying off for many of the returners on defense. “We found out we are a lot stronger mentally,” said junior defensive lineman Dominic Bourne. “As a team, it took a lot out of us to keep going and going — especially for us linemen  since there were only three interior linemen.” Bourne had two sacks as he played for the maroon team, both coming in the first quarter of the two-quarter scrimmage. The 6-foot-2, 270-pound junior, who had 14 tackles in ten games last season, finished the evening with a total of 4.5 tackles. Bourne and his fellow defensive linemen’s work caught the eye of head coach Rich Skrosky. “I’ve been pleased with the defensive line, and that’s even with a couple guys that are out,” Skrosky said. “[Junior] Jack Williams was out, [sophomore] Dondre Howell, who we think is going to be a factor, was out, and we’ve gotten really good productivity.” Another lineman who had a big night was senior Rob Sullivan, who finished the night with four tackles and 1.5 sacks as he split time between the teams. “Rob was a solid player last year,” Skrosky said. “But this is really Rob’s first offseason he’s had, as he had shoulder injuries the last two offseasons. So he’s bigger and stronger and a really athletic kid.” Elon lost two standout senior linebackers after last season as Jonathan Spain and Odell Benton finished their time at Elon. At the position, Elon will be counting on junior John Silas to continue his production from last year, when he was second on the team with 100 tackles. But while Silas had 1.5 tackles Saturday, the standout linebacker of the spring game was senior Alexander Dawson, who had a game-high 7.5 tackles for the white team. Dawson also added one sack toward the end of the second quarter, stopping the maroon offense on fourth down with less than three minutes to go. After the game, Dawson was complimentary of his fellow defensive players, honing in on the defensive lineman. “I feel, after seeing them get all of the reps, they are a lot better conditioned now,” Dawson said. “I’m seeing a lot of improvements from last year, which may not have happened if more players were involved or if we were a healthier team.” Senior Julius Moore, who had the lone turnover, will lead the secondary for the Phoenix. Moore caught the ball off of a deflection from fellow defensive back sophomore Chris Blair and returned it 23 yards. Moore was the leader in interceptions for the Phoenix in 2014 with four and was fourth in tackles with 67. Blair was third on the team in tackles with four, sliding right into the same spot he occupied in the 2014 season, during which his 98 tackles also was third-best on the team. Blair and Moore will be joined by senior defensive backs Miles Williams (55 tackles in 2014) and Jeremy Gloston (49 tackles in 2014) in the secondary, forming Elon’s most experienced unit on either side of the ball. With the spring practices completed, all of the players will go back to working out and getting ready for final exams. Then, after a little time off, they will return for summer workouts, with fall practice starting in early August. On the final day of contact practice, Skrosky took one last chance to evaluate his team and liked what he saw. “There were things that happened during the course of the spring that when you put the tape on at night after practice, you said, ‘Hey, that drill is showing up,’” Skrosky said. “So that’s a sign that we are honing in on our fundamentals.”

https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2015/04/defense-dominates-in-spring-game

Spring football jeopardizes players’ health

(04/01/15 6:57pm)

The crunch of the fall leaves and the brisk wind blowing as the sun sets are sentiments usually associated with football season. Not the chirping of birds and spring flowers. Spring football practice has continued to grow across the college and high school game, with spring games at larger schools drawing upwards of 40,000 people. Many teams have begun their annual spring practices that culminate in a spring game — an intrasquad scrimmage. But with the increasing number of concussions and brain-related injuries in football, spring football needs to be limited. At Elon University, the football team opened spring practice Monday. The spring game will be played in a primetime slot of 7 p.m. April 25 — the third straight year it’s been held at night. The purpose of spring football is to keep the players in shape, practice new plays or formations and get an idea of what the depth chart could be in the fall. All of those things can be done without what the NCAA calls “live contact,” which involves tackling to the ground and/or live-speed blocking. Instead, full-pad practices should be the most intense type of practice in the spring. Full-pad practices simply have the players in full pads and don’t require live contact — rather, they’re focused on honing technique and conditioning to prepare for games. The NCAA allows 15 spring practice sessions, eight of them with live contact. Only three of those live contact practices can be scrimmages, or have live contact for more than 50 percent of the practice. The live contact practices can’t happen on consecutive days or more than twice a week. Elon, like all other college teams, mixes in live contact during the spring. The live contact practices should be cut down to include just one scrimmage and no more than two other days. As more and more football players are sidelined because of brain injuries, it’s best to stay away from contact as much as possible, especially considering players go through nearly a month of camp before the season starts in August and many spend the entire summer at school working out with the team. Last month, Chris Borland, a 24-year-old linebacker who led the San Francisco 49ers in tackles last season, retired less than one year after being drafted out of the University of Wisconsin. He cited the potential for brain trauma in the future as a prime reason for the early retirement. For years, it’s become more and more prevalent how football players are impacted by the hits they suffer from playing the game. Borland’s situation shows that players are taking heed of what’s happening to their predecessors. Defensive back Akeem Langham, who was a fifth-year senior for Elon last year, missed the last three games of Elon’s 2013 season after suffering two concussions in a three-week span. As a result, Langham wore a thick, padded cover to his helmet during spring practice in 2014. It’s time the NCAA and its institutions begin taking more measures to protect the athletes. The Elon football team should make an effort to stay away from live contact for the majority of its spring practices and focus more on summer training sessions. Last year, head coach Rich Skrosky was pleased at the team’s progress throughout the summer because nearly the entire team was at Elon working out through June and July. Coaches can’t be present at practices during the summer per NCAA rules, but that doesn’t mean players can’t sharpen offensive and defensive sets. Plus, incoming freshmen are present during the summer — most aren’t during the spring. Spring practice has some benefits, yes. It boosted an Elon team going through a coaching transition. But the long-term consequences outweigh the immediate positives that can be gained from live contact in spring practices. Elon should be wary of that this month, and should use live contact as little as possible.

https://www.elonnewsnetwork.com/article/2015/04/spring-football-jeopardizes-players-health