ELON, N.C. – The Elon football team resumes practice tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the Hunt and Tucker practice fields, as the Phoenix will work in pads for the first time this spring. We caught up with head coach Jason Swepson this morning to talk about tonight’s practice.
 
Tonight will be the first spring practice in pads. What do you hope to see out of the team?
 
Swepson: “We’re going to try and be physical today. Even though we’ll only be in shoulder pads and helmets, we still hope to get a lot of contact in. We’ll see a lot of one-on-one physical drills with the offensive line and defensive line, running backs and linebackers and wide receivers versus defensive backs. There’s going to be a lot of individual competition tonight, which I’m very excited to see.”
 
How has this spring been different from last year’s so far?
 
Swepson: “There’s been more focus on technique rather than trying to teach plays. Obviously we’re more advanced this spring than we were a year ago. We only had one change over with our staff bringing in Freddie [Aughtry-Lindsay] to coach our linebackers, but our staff continuity has been outstanding. Freddie ran the same system at NC State while he was there, so he hasn’t skipped a beat coming in this spring. We also return a lot of veteran guys on defense and at the skill positions on offense, so that has definitely helped our continuity as a whole.”
 
What has stood out to you in practice so far?
 
Swepson: “The will and want to be successful is there, whereas last year it was more about the guys trying to please the coaches, so that’s been exciting to see. We’re at a different mental level than we were last year because our players tasted the chance to have a winning season after being a minute or so away from it.”
 
What is the biggest difference between practicing in the evening opposed to early in the morning?
 
Swepson: “You get anyone’s best performance in the morning. I’m hoping the more we practice in the morning helps us with performance in the classroom with being up and wide-awake with a lot of adrenaline running through them. Our ultimate goal is to have our fall practices fall in the morning, but we’re likely still a year or so away from that.”
 
2012 Elon Phoenix Spring Football Practice Upcoming Schedule
Friday, March 30th – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 1st – 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, April 3rd – 7:35 a.m.
Thursday, April 5th – 7:35 a.m.
Tuesday, April 10th – 7:35 a.m.
Thursday, April 12th – 7:35 a.m.
Saturday, April 14th – 3:30 p.m. (Rhodes Stadium)
Tuesday, April 17th – 7:35 a.m.
Thursday, April 19th – 7:35 a.m.
Saturday, April 21st – 2:30 p.m. (Rhodes Stadium)
Tuesday, April 24th – 7:35 a.m.
Thursday, April 26th – 7:35 a.m.
Saturday, April 28th – 1:00 p.m. (Spring Game – Rhodes Stadium)