April 18, 2008

Cullowhee, N.C. - Western Carolina will culminate its annual spring football practice on Saturday, April 19 with the Spring Game on the turf at E.J. Whitmire Stadium / Bob Waters Field. The Catamounts took to the field for their final tune-up prior to the spring game on Friday afternoon for practice number 14 of the 15 regulated by the NCAA.

"I wish we had 30 practices," Wagner joked. "We have definitely seen results and players have gotten better this spring. We are still a long ways from where we have got to be to be successful, but our guys have made strides and that is what we have asked them to do, taking positive steps forward every day."

The three areas in which Wagner has emphasized during the off-season workouts and through spring practice are execution, discipline and execution. From that beginning, the Catamounts have worked on installation of the core units of the offense and defense with the common goal of making each other better each time out.

"Offensively, we have stayed pretty basic. We have tried to establish that we want to have a tempo - getting in and out of huddle, get up and down at the line of scrimmage. Much like the offense, we have kept the schemes simple during the spring for our defense, stressing going to the ball and being able to read situations and formations," said Wagner.

Wagner commented that nearly half to two-thirds of the offense has been installed with the current players.

"We are going to have a very unique situation in the fall. There are currently 58 players on roster and we are allowed 90 in fall camp, so almost half of our team will be new. There is an advantage for the guys who have gone through spring ball because they will have 15 practices under their belts. We are going to count on these guys who went through spring practice o help the new guys in the transisition as they continue to improve themselves," Wagner added.

WCU will host its annual Spring Game at 1:00 pm on Saturday afternoon in Cullowhee.

"The spring game is an opportunity for our players to showcase to our students and fans the improvements in which they have made both over the off-season and through the spring. I want to see a disciplined football team during our scrimmage on Saturday. It all comes down to our three areas of emphasis - I feel that if we eliminate mental errors, it will give us a chance to win each week," Wagner said.

This year's spring game will feature the offense, wearing white jerseys and purple pants, against the defense which will be wearing purple with white pants. Action will be live, with the quarterbacks wearing yellow jerseys and ruled down by two-hand touch. Each side will have opportunities to score, tallying points for touchdowns (6), extra points (1) and field goals (3) offensively and conversely for defensive stops (1), turnovers (2), missed field goals (2) and scores (7).

"We do not have enough bodies to split the team as we have done in the past to allow each side to have an offense and a defense. Keeping the units together with our scoring system will allow each side to be competitive, while also forcing the offense to score points," explained Wagner.

Although there will not be a game clock kept, the offense will work around the new NCAA-mandated 40-second play clock rule change which is similar to the one employed by the NFL. Essentially, the play clock will be wound from the time the previous play is ruled dead.

The game will be formatted with three sets of drives with varying starting points with both of the first two sets consisting of seven separate drives. The third set will be 5 drives or less depending on the time. There will be a 10 minute "halftime" break between set one and two, with a five minute break between latter two.

Offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf and his counterpart, defensive coordinator Matt Pawlowski, will base play calling off the preceding play like live game action. The game will feature three sets of scheduled drives with varying starting points, but will be played until completed.

"There is an excitement around this year's spring game. I would like to thank our marketing and promotions people, as well as the many alumni and students we have spoken with at the various events who have expressed interest in the Spring Game. We hope that they all come through and come out on Saturday to show their support," concluded Wagner.

According to head athletic trainer Steven Honbarger, only three players are questionable or doubtful for Saturday's game. Defensive lineman Josh "Buster" Smith is doubtful with a knee injury with offensive lineman Ryan Cooper is doubtful with bruised ribs. A second offensive lineman, Sam Jackson, missed Friday's workout and is listed as questionable with a chest injury.

Festivities, which are FREE to the public, get under way at Noon with the first-ever "A Taste of Tailgating" on the patio behind the West Side stands. Nine restaurants including Bogarts, BoJangles, Brushy Mountain Smokehouse, O'Malley's, Papa's Pizza, Sonic, Sub Station II, Subway, and Zaxby's, will be serving up free samples to fans in attendance.