TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The
Curt Mallory era officially began before dawn this morning, as Sycamore Football began its 2017 spring practice season on Tuesday.
Mallory, who
took over the reins of the program on January 25, opened spring ball with a high-energy practice that began in the dark at 5:15 a.m. The first two days of spring practice are non-contact, but beginning Saturday the Sycamores will be in full pads.
"It's great to be back on the field," Mallory said. "I really liked the energy we had out there today. There's some things we've got to clean up, which isn't going to happen the first day. But we'll get those things cleaned up and watch film this afternoon with the team."
Mallory and his staff are instituting a top-to-bottom change of the playbook with a 4-3 defense and a pro-style, singleback set on offense.
"What we're trying to get in is our base offense and our base defense, and being able to play fast," Mallory said. "I wanted to see as much 11-on-11 as we could today, and I wanted to hear football. I wanted to hear the guys out there communicating."
Mallory inherits a team that returns nine of 22 total starters from the 2016 season: five from the offense and four from the defense (using six games started as a baseline). ISU also returns injured running backs
LeMonte Booker and
Marlon Fleming II from season-ending injuries in 2016 to help bolster an already stacked backfield.
Key returnees on defense include linebackers
Katrell Moss and
Jordan Jackson, and nose tackle
Norvell McGlaun.
Also returning is 2016 starting QB
Isaac Harker. However, Mallory and staff are keeping things open when it comes to the starting signal caller for the Sycamores this fall. All four QBs – Harker,
Zach Larkin,
Cade Sparks and
Aaron Young – each wore a No. 1 jersey and will for the entirety of spring practice rather than the traditional yellow jersey reserved for quarterbacks.
"I want to hear (the QBs)," Mallory said. "I want to hear what kind of leaders they are. I want to hear how much command they have."
The Sycamores get back at it Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. All practices and scrimmages, which are listed below, are free and open to the public and media to attend. Spring practice will conclude on April 21 with the annual Spring Game at 4 p.m.
More detail concerning the annual golf outing will be available in the coming days.
Day 1 (March 21): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 2 (March 23): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 3 (March 25): 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Day 4 (March 28): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 5 (March 30): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 6 (April 1; 1st Scrimmage): 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Day 7 (April 4): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 8 (April 6): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 9 (April 8; 2nd Scrimmage): 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m.
Day 10 (April 11): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 11 (April 13): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 12 (April 14): TBA
Day 13 (April 18): 5:15-7:15 a.m.
Day 14 (April 20): 4:30-6:30 p.m.
Day 15 (April 21, Spring Game): 4:00 p.m.
For the latest information on the Sycamore Football team, make sure to check out
GoSycamores.com. You can also find the team on social media including
Facebook and
Twitter.
