Spring football renews optimism

I have a problem. I think I'm a little more optimistic about the upcoming Weber State University football season than I should be.

You see, spring football starts today, and I'm just hoping and praying that this month's worth of practices will be extremely beneficial when the fall rolls around.

No one will argue the fact that the football team struggled last season. The 'Cats went 3-8 picking up victories against Sacramento State University, the University of Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo and Idaho State University.

One could possibly blame the struggles on a lack of experience or the injuries to key players early in the season.

It wasn't until a mid-season pep talk about respect that the 'Cats made significant strides as a team.

WSU won back-to'back games at one point in time and also finished the season with solid performances against I-AA national champion the University of Montana and Utah State University. Although the 'Cats lost to the Grizzlies and Aggies, they proved that the future may be somewhat bright.

Quarterback Tyler Gladwell will be critical to the success of this season's team. As Gladwell goes, so do the 'Cats.

Gladwell will be WSU's main offensive threat and, if healthy, could lead the Big Sky in passing. Gladwell finished third in the conference in total passing yards, was one of the leaders in touchdowns and threw fewer interceptions than the majority of the quarterbacks in the conference. The pressure to succeed may even be greater for Gladwell considering the departure of running back Johnnie Gray III and receiver Damon Greenberry, who will graduate at the end of the semester and try their luck in the NFL.

The offensive line suffered from the loss of tackle and Team Captain Damion Wright, however, the remainder of the starters from last season will return. Matt Hill, Kelly Kerriger, Chris Rhodes and Ben Olsen were pivotal to the success of Gladwell last season, and opened bus-sized holes for Gray last season will return and should see the majority of the minutes this season.

Linebacker Matt McFadden will be the key to WSU's defensive success this season. McFadden rose from obscurity to become one of WSU's top defensive players and finished as the second leading tackler on the team behind safety Spencer Sigoda.

In fact, McFadden played so well that he even earned Big Sky First Team honors for his performance. He will need to play just as well this season if the 'Cats are going to win. The departure of Sigoda and Cardedrick Foreman from the defensive backfield could hurt the defensive backfield, but several players, including Charles Boughton and Marcus Thurma who saw a lot of time last season, could possibly fill the void.

WSU football Coach Jerry Graybeal used a lot of different combinations on defense last season, especially the defensive line. The defensive line may have been the Achilles heel for WSU last season, but with experienced players returning this season, there is hope that the lessons learned from last season will pay off in a big way this season.

WSU also had a solid recruiting class which should complement the remaining players nicely and compete for starting jobs on this year's squad.

Starting spots will not be determined this spring; however, the performance of players in spring ball will go a long way in seeing how well the team performs in the fall.