ThunderWolves put a spring in their step

Tuesday marks the start of 15-day spring football.

By JOE E. CERVI, THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

John Wristen doesn't dream about Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference football championships.

He'd have to fall asleep to dream, and sleep is something Wristen has had much of lately.

"Man, I'm so excited I haven't been able to get much sleep," Wristen joked. "I've been to spring football (practices) at CSU (in Fort Collins) and that just got me even more excited. I want to be out there coaching again. I want to put the whistle in my mouth and stop watching and get coaching."

The ThunderWolves on Tuesday embark on a 15-day odyssey that is spring football. They will practice at 7 a.m. three days a week and at 3 p.m. on Sundays. They will don full pads in their fourth practice and hit live thereafter.

Wristen said there are two main goals to accomplish this spring.

"First, we need to evaluate the players, see what we have and who are football players," Wristen said. "Second, we need to learn how to coach together as a coaching staff. We need to be on the same page and have the same expectations of the kids.

"Something else we need to establish is to get across to these kids just how hard this is going to be. We need to show that attitude. What we've done to this point, with the offseason workouts, has been kind of intramuralish. We need to see what the real football looks like."

More than 80 players are slated to take part in spring drills. Those players will be joined by at least that many more in August, when freshmen and junior college players who committed to CSU-Pueblo earlier this year, report to campus.

Wristen said that although several players are penciled in to some positions, all positions on the team are up for grabs.

"We are going to grade every practice, and we're going to grade on effort," he said. "That's subjective, of course, but we know who is working his tail off and who isn't. We should have a decent idea of what we've got and what we need after spring ball."

CSU-Pueblo reinstated football, as well as wrestling and women's track, in May of 2007. Football was dropped from the university's athletic program in the spring of 1985. Wristen played quarterback at the school, years before spring football was allowed at the Division II level.

The team opens the 2008 season at home against Panhandle (Okla.) State. The ThunderWolves will play home games at the $13 million Neta & Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl, adjacent to campus property.

SPRING FOOTBALL

Spring practices for Colorado State University-Pueblo football program begin Tuesday. All practices are at Dutch Clark Stadium and are free and open to the public:

• Tues.-Wed.-Thurs.: Mid-week practices run on these three days through April 24. They begin at 7 a.m. and last two hours. The last practice is April 24.
• Sunday: Practices are April 6, 13 and 20 and begin at 3 p.m. On April 20, children will be able to stretch with the ThunderWolves, get football pointers and then watch practice. Call the athletic department for more information.