Getting Down To Business

Senior-to-be Tommy Lazzaro is one of several quarterbacks taking snaps in spring drills for the CMU football team.

Photo by: Mary Lewandowski

4/11/2019 11:44:00 AM | Football

Chippewas hit the field ahead of Saturday's Family Fun Fest

By: Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Football is played in quick spurts, with emotion and with attitude.

Plenty of all three elements are on display in spring practice for the Central Michigan football team under first-year coach Jim McElwain.

"Coach Mac is big on energy, he believes you get out what you put in," said defensive back Da'Quaun Jamison, a senior-to-be. "Every station, every drill we compete by seeing who gets there first and (by) sprinting everywhere, even in the weight room. That's just one of (McElwain's) fine little details in how he wants to construct this team this year."

McElwain and his coaching staff – there is only one holdover, tackles/tight ends coach Tavita Thompson, from the previous regime – are putting the Chippewas through their paces ahead of Saturday's Family Fun Fest at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Saturday's festivities begin at 10 a.m., and include a kids clinic, a locker room tour, an autograph session and a family zone area. Gates open to Kelly/Shorts Stadium at noon and the Chippewas will take the field for a practice at 1 p.m.

"The guys have done a great job practicing, they're fun to be around," said McElwain, who last season was an assistant at Michigan before being named to head CMU's program on Dec. 2, 2018. "I really enjoy their enthusiasm and the way they've attacked this spring.

"They're hungry; that's fun. It's good when you have a group that's like that, that is willing to invest every day and do what they need to do in order to get a little bit better."

WIDE OPEN
McElwain addressed the No. 1 question on the minds of most fans as they look ahead to 2019: Quarterback.

There are seven signal-callers on the roster, including senior Tommy Lazzaro, who is the most experienced as a Chippewa having appeared in six games last season, completing 68 of 141 pass attempts for 711 yards and five touchdowns.

Among the others in the hunt are senior Quinten Dormady, a graduate transfer with a big-time pedigree having played at both Houston and Tennessee; and junior David Moore, a transfer from Garden City (Kan.) Community College who previously played at Memphis.

"We've got some guys that are really competing," McElwain said, adding that leadership and the ability to learn and adapt to his system are a part of the evaluation. "Seeing how they move the team is really where it's at right now. All of the guys have had their moments. The really satisfying thing, and it's more than satisfying, it's exciting: We've got some guys who can play."

OPEN SEASON
McElwain has stressed, time and again, that the Chippewas began with a clean slate – for better or for worse – when he took over the program back in December.

CMU finished 1-11 a year ago.

"The past is the past," he said. "I just want them to get better and really feel good about themselves before they can do anything positive and that's something I've seen. I'd call it the way it is, they're a great group of guys to be around."

VETERAN'S TAKE
The Chippewas' offense is under the direction of coordinator and former NFL quarterback Charlie Frye, who played at Akron.

"We're going to be much more efficient offense this year than we were last year," said Steve Eipper, a senior-to-be offensive lineman. "Last year we dropped off from the previous year, but this year I have a good feeling that we're going to bounce back."

"There's all this new energy throughout the organization. Since Coach Mac's come in, he's brought in all sorts of new ideas. It's been really good to see how the guys have adapted to that and kind of bought in. If everybody doesn't buy in, then you can't go very far; but everyone is buying in and it's been really good to see the change from last season to just that spring."