Lehigh Spring Practice Reports, In Print and In Video

This time of year for me, blog-wise, is more of a "Spring Cleaning" than anything: it's the time when I think about a blog redesign (simplify, simplify, simplify), when I dress up my LFN Twitter page, when I try to figure how LFN looks on an iPhone, whein I clean up my LFN page on Facebook (and uploading all those videos and photos I've been meaning to upload to Facebook since, oh, December of last year) and basically do all the things that I've been meaning to do, but haven't.

But spring football season is also in full swing, and recently two reports were filed on the goings-on at practice. One was of the print variety, as Keith Groller of the Morning Call mentions that Lehigh is marching into this season with new momentum. Overall, coach Coen seems very please with how the team has progressed this offseason, partually buoyed by the successful season-ending win against "that school in Easton":

''We've had a great off-season,'' said coach Andy Coen as he shivered his way off the practice field after the third of the team's 14 spring sessions that will culminate with the Brown and White Game on April 18 at Goodman Stadium.

''The attitude of every kid from one to 70 was to get better this winter. We had a good one last year, too, but our kids are really excited and have done a great job. This was the type of day when maybe they wouldn't be ready to work in the past, but they came out here with a lot of energy and enthusiasm today.''

Junior QB J.B. Clark also told Groller of his increased expectiations this spring:

''There's a totally different feel for me coming into this season from a leadership standpoint,'' Clark said. ''The rest of the guys have shown they have confidence in me, and I have confidence in them. We're all out there pushing each other every day.''

Clark said he's not satisfied, and still hasn't forgotten about the 5-6 final record and all the close ones that got away.

For Clark that means ''getting better every day and taking my game to the next level.''

Pretty good stuff - music not only to my ears, I'm sure, but also to any Lehigh football fans out there.

The second report is actually from Service Electric 2's "Sports Scene" (which, thanks to SUVballer7, is available on YouTube) and gives a video report of Lehigh's practice so far. (It's also available on my Facebook page.) Interviewed is coach Coen and senior LB Matt Cohen:

Coen: "The kids just had a lot more bounce in their step after this offseason. Not only beating Lafayette, but winning three of the last four games. To end the season on a high note was huge for the kids, and the great work in the offseason in the weight room, running, those types of things has really carried over in the spring."

Cohen: "Coach said yesterday that spring's really installing an entire season's worth of plays in 15 practices. We've been doing that but at the same time we want to make sure we're having fun out there, we're working hard, we're getting better each day. So we're doing a lot of competition drills - and it's good to see that off the field after practice that we're all still friends, too, since it gets pretty heated."

The video includes footage of spring - including a pretty good 50 yard spiral pass by Clark. I don't think he's going to be looking over his shoulder this spring for the starting nod, do you?