The Reasons Behind DeBoer Splitting Up Spring FB Practice

Reporting for duty on March 6th, University of Washington football players were summoned to spring practice far earlier than they were accustomed.

They pulled on the pads this past week a full month earlier or more than demanded by previous Husky coaching staffs.

In fact, when they got all dressed up and trotted out for their first drills, the calendar officially still said it was winter, not spring.

The reason for the jumpstart?

Kalen DeBoer, in looking closely at every little detail in the way he does things, wants program continuity in place at all times in Montlake, so he changed the football calendar.

In doing this, he noted how a year ago during the coaching change from Jimmy Lake to himself, the Huskies went just shy of five months without practicing football, from Apple Cup week to the beginning of his initial spring camp.

This time around, with an Alamo Bowl appearance extending the season by five weeks and DeBoer moving up spring ball by a month, his players were left with only a two-and-a-half-month gap — keeping them ever focused on football and not just relegated to long periods of offseason conditioning.

"I felt confident because of our maturity, and as many guys returning, that we were ready a little bit earlier to get on the football field," DeBoer said. "We had a six-week training period that Coach Mac (Ron McKeefery) felt good about."

No program tweak is too small for this second-year coach and his staff to consider in getting things just right for the Huskies in building on the success of a 11-2 debut record in a hurry.

One potential drawback in the new schedule is spring break falls smack in the middle of football, so who's to say that some of these players — and remember these are college-aged males with hormones to match — don't head for Daytona Beach, Cabo San Lucas or some other hopping destination to unwind just like any other student might.

The beach always is a nice alternative to the blocking sled or the bench press.

However, the Husky coach swears many of his players are staying committed to football during the coming period even without an organized practice schedule to keep them spellbound.

"There are so many guys who aren't going to be on trips going home or a fun location on spring break," DeBoer said. "They're staying here and putting the work in."

Another minor inconvenience is new players such as Mississippi State running back transfer Dillon Johnson and incoming freshman center Landon Hatchett were forced to miss the first three spring practices because they couldn't enroll in school ... until after spring break.

DeBoer figures that's a small price to pay for keeping the Huskies overall headed in the right direction for more success.

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