Coming off a 6-6 season in his first year at Ball State, coach Pete Lembo is ready for his second year of spring practice to start.
Last season's spring practices were about the new coaching staff installing a different style of offense, defense and special teams. This spring, it's about getting the players to be aware.
"I'm looking for awareness; why we do what we do," Lembo said. "Last year it was just getting everyone on the same page. Now I want to get the guys to see why we do what we do, and that crosses over to all three phases of the game."
But even with the sense of familiarity, the team will still have questions that will need answered. Perhaps the biggest question of the spring is on defense, more specifically the safety position, which Lembo calls wide open.
Ball State loses All-Mid-American Conference safety Sean Baker and four-year starter Joshua Howard to graduation. The openings will create position battles for both position spots among Brian Jones, Chris Calloway, J.C. Wade, Brandon Kish, Joe Fazio and Chris Pauling. But whoever wins the two positions won't have the experience that Baker and Howard had. Combined, there only are three combined starts between the six competing safeties compared to the 93 combined starts between Baker and Howard.
Safety isn't the only position Ball State will be looking to find replacements as only five starters will return from last season's defense.
The offensive unit is a different story this spring. Quarterback Keith Wenning returns his junior season after starting all 12 games as a sophomore. Eight starters return to a Ball State offense, which ranked ninth in red zone efficiency with 90 percent in 2011. The Cardinals do lose center Kreg Hunter and wide receivers Briggs Orsbon and Torieal Gibson, but Lembo is still looking for his offense to improve.
"We did a fine job of keeping turnovers low, limiting penalties and being efficient on third down," Lembo said. "The key this year will be to develop playmakers and create more explosive plays. We didn't so that much last year."
Lembo wants to create as much competition as possible this spring because he believes it makes his players better, he said. With players coming off redshirt seasons in 2011 and transfers able to compete for positions, he should get what he wants.
Some of those transfers include defensive end Jonathan Newsome from Ohio State and running back Toney Williams from Tennessee.
On National Signing Day in February, Lembo said most of the incoming recruiting class is likely to redshirt so he can build an experience team for the future. But that doesn't mean some freshmen won't get playing time in the fall, especially Pauling and defensive end Osazuwamgn Igbinosun. Lembo said the freshmen picked an opportune time to come to Ball State in the spring because of the lack of depth at those positions.
"Now that there is a legitimate chance for them to be contributors on Saturdays next fall, they're anxious," Lembo said.
The Cardinals will have 15 practices before the Spring Game on April 21, which should give the team and coaching staff enough time to build this summer and come close to creating a full depth chart for the fall, but Lembo doesn't plan on bringing new things to the team.
"I'm not as concerned on installing more schematics; I'm more concerned about thorough understanding of the basics this spring," he said. "We're not making significant changes. We're just being more detailed."
For more coverage on the football team, follow @MatMikesell on Twitter.
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