March 14, 2008
RUSTON, La. - Louisiana Tech football coach Derek Dooley and his Bulldogs officially begin preparation for their second season together as the team begins spring practices on Saturday afternoon to set the tone for the 2008.
The biggest question entering the spring is at the quarterback position. After losing starter Zac Champion to graduation, the Bulldogs have no proven signal caller to fill the position. Dooley said the spring will be the first opportunity for quarterbacks Steven Ensminger and Ross Jenkins to begin making their claim, but emphasized it's a long process.
"Anytime you lose a starting quarterback, that's the big question mark next season. That's a question that is not going to be answered this spring," Dooley said. "Playing quarterback is an ongoing process. There will be days where each of them look great, and there will be days when they each look horrible."
Dooley said the quarterbacks are not competing against each other but rather competing with themselves to prove they can lead the offense and reiterated the position will not be finalized at the end of spring workouts.
"At the end of spring, they're not going to win a job or lose a job," Dooley said. "I think the important thing is to see where they are now and how they progress over 15 practices. Then we can see where we are at the end of spring, and that will roll us into training camp."
The defense was hit hardest by the loss of six starters, but with the returning starters, newcomers and other returning players Dooley believes the defense is ready to improve on the steps the team made in 2007.
First team All-Western Athletic Conference safety Antonio Baker will lead the secondary, and second team linebacker Quin Harris heads the front seven. The defense lost three starters on the defensive line, including two All-WAC players. JUCO transfer Kwame Jordan and incoming freshman Eric Harper are two players Dooley and his staff are excited to see in action and make a push for a starting job on the D-line.
Offensively, the offensive line remains mostly intact with three returning starters and a number of others with significant starting experience poised to fill voids left by seniors Tyler Miller and Ryan Considine.
Besides feeling more comfortable at the quarterback position by the end of spring practice, Dooley said he wants to see the team continue to grow as a unit and progress on the field and off in everything necessary to be a better team in 2008.
"I think the team dynamic is always important," Dooley said. "I've been real pleased with our teams' attitude, their work ethic and they're togetherness. I think the more years you have in a program the more everyone understands what the expectations are."
Saturday begins Tech's 15 allowed spring workouts by the NCAA with the conclusion coming with the T-Day Spring Game on April 12 at 1 p.m. All practices are closed to the public until T-Day.
