Scrimmage Highlights Spring Football Practice

Central Michigan University capped the second week of spring football drills with a brief offense-versus-defense scrimmage Saturday afternoon.

The 15-minute session capped a two-hour workout that saw the Chippewas conduct a full practice in Kelly/Shorts Stadium for the first time this spring.

“We want to practice situational football as much as we can, and we did a number of different third down situations and we got some red zone work in,” said head coach Butch Jones. “We got some good work in today, but we still have a long way to go. That’s why you practice though.”

The offense had the upper hand on the scoreboard during Saturday’s session, accounting for five touchdowns and a field goal while starting from a variety of different spots on the field.

Dan LeFevour threw touchdown passes to Jean Pitts and Rocky Weaver, both of whom made outstanding catches. Pitts hauled in a long pass that Dan LeFevour dropped behind a defender in the end zone; Weaver, on third-and-10 from the 20-yard line, made a catch over the middle at the goal line, absorbed a solid hit from a defender and tumbled into the end zone.

Brian Brunner added a touchdown pass to Brandin Friske, while Marcel Archer and Justin Hoskins scored on short runs. Andrew Aguila converted a 43-yard field goal after linebacker Matt Berning broke up a third-down pass attempt.

“I saw some good and some bad today, but I’ll know more after we have a chance to look at the film,” Jones said. “I thought our offensive line played with a toughness and brought a great mentality to practice today. Dan made some big throws, and I can’t say enough about Jean Pitts right now. He’s dealing with some nagging injuries, but he will not take himself off the field or out of a drill.”

As the Chippewas near the midpoint of spring drills, one of Jones’ priorities is continuing to discover the personality of this year’s team.

“We’re a work in progress and still trying to develop our mentality,” Jones said. “We’ve only had five practices this spring, and there is so much that goes in to developing a team’s personality and mentality. When you go through the tough times and face adversity, how the team responds helps develop that.”

The Chippewas are slated to return to the practice field Tuesday morning.

Meet the Media: Butch Jones will meet with the media Wednesday afternoon to provide an update on spring drills. Video of the press conference will be available on cmuchippewas.com following its conclusion.

Spring Scrimmage April 19: CMU will cap spring drills with its annual spring scrimmage on Saturday, April 19. The Chippewas will take the Kelly/Shorts Stadium turf at 6 p.m.

[More at www.cmuchippewas.com]