He has just two spring practices under his belt and his team has yet to dress in full pads, but coach Pete Lembo likes what he sees so far.
"I told the guys afterwards, today I felt like we were able to take another little baby step forward," the first-year coach said. "One of the concerns you have going out in my position everyday [is] you know that everything is still very new. You know that you have to keep trying to add to your installation."
The second day of spring practice was another day of installing Lembo's offense and defense at Ball State. Lembo said he was worried some players might be overwhelmed with the new offense, but he didn't see it Wednesday.
"I thought some guys were able to sharpen things up from yesterday and also process what he put in for today," Lembo said.
Lembo said he believed there was balanced improvement on both sides of the ball and didn't see a lot of things slow down practices.
Lembo was particularly impressed by the performances of senior receiver Torieal Gibson, freshman receiver Willie Snead and junior cornerback Jason Pinkston.
"Everything is new to [Snead]," Lembo said. "College is new to him, and I thought he made a nice step forward from Day 1 to Day 2."
Lembo and offensive coordinator Rich Skrosky have yet to give the complete offense to the Cardinals, but the head coach said it's a matter of days before the full offense is put in.
Lembo said he and his coaching staff will use the first four practices to install the offense, and after the four days will assess where the team is at.
"We will adjust how much more goes in from there," Lembo said. "There's definitely more to put in, but how rapidly we put it in and whether we scale back or not matters on the next two practices."
He said the same concept is used for his style of defense, too.
Though there is still a long way to go in the spring session, Lembo said there is still a lot of things that need to be improved.
"There's nothing that doesn't need to be worked on at this point," he said. "I try to stay even keeled about things as much as I possibly can," he said. "You tend to take everything in stride and keep everything in perspective. To me, it's as much about the intangibles right now, as much as it is about some of the productivity on the field.
"One thing I can't complain about is the attitude of this group. It's been terrific."
Impressions
During spring practice, sports editor Mat Mikesell will give his perspective on coach Pete Lembo's team.
Wednesday
In the second day of spring practice, quarterbacks Kelly Page and Keith Wenning split reps with the first team offense.
Kelly Page
Page looked uneasy at times and lacked velocity and accuracy on his throws on short drag routes. He was accurate with deeper throws but had deflected passes against the first team defense.
Keith Wenning
Wenning had more velocity on his throws and looked more poised while taking snaps. He had a few interceptions, which were made by misreads, in the drill against the first team defense.
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