THIBODAUX, La. - Head Coach Charlie Stubbs first season at the helm of the Colonel Football program will begin on Monday March 29 when the Nicholls State University football team holds its first practice of the 2010 season.

The practice will take place in John L. Guidry Stadium for 3:30 p.m. and is open to the public. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s practices will also be held at the same location and time.

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“The players and coaches are excited to finally get out on the field and start working towards getting better,” said Stubbs. “The next phase of building our program begins on Monday, and we are going to look to get better each and everyday in practice.”

The team will practice in helmets and jerseys during the NCAA mandatory acclimation period, and will practice in shoulder pads for the first time on Wednesday, March 31.

Before spring drills begin, Coach Stubbs sat down with the Nicholls media relations for athletics staff and answered a host of questions. Coach Stubbs has agreed to participate in a Q&A every week in regards to spring practice. The release will be posted every Friday at www.geauxcolonels.com.

This week’s Q&A is below.

Q: “Coach, it is your first spring practice as a head coach and we know that you are excited about that opportunity. What can you tell us about spring practice? What are you looking for out of it the most?
A: “It is just a great chance and opportunity to evaluate all the players, position by position and to see where we stand from a personnel stand point on talent. I’m also looking forward to seeing the coaches working with our student-athletes, teaching and guiding our players in transitioning to the type of system we are looking to run. As spring practice goes and moves further along, I’d like to see progress in all three phases of the game to establish our core package, and to see leadership from our players develop the proper way. All of the players have a fresh start, and an opportunity to showcase their skills.”

Q: “In switching offensive philosophies, do you expect a learning curve to take place in spring practice?”
A: “I believe so, but I feel confident in what we as a coaching staff are capable of to get our team ready for Sept. 4 when we open up at San Diego State. It’s not where we start in spring practice, but where we are come opening day. I know that I am going to have to show patience and it is going to require us to take small steps at a time, but we will get there. I expect my players to come out ready, and by ready I mean to come to spring practice with their ears open ready to listen and their work ethics in line ready to hustle. Lack of effort and excuses will not be accepted.”

Q: “A lot has been made about the changing of offenses from a heavy running attack to your multiple pro-style. How are you planning to make that transition go smoothly?
A: “The coaching staff and I are in an agreement that we are going to make it as simple as possible for them at first, and slowly but surely progress further and further in our play book. I equate this to my first year at Tulsa as the offensive coordinator when we switched offenses and had just spring and fall practices to get our team ready, and that year we went on to win eight games. I’m going to take that same approach with this situation and hopefully have the same amount of success. The greatest thing about newness is that it doesn’t come with old habits, meaning all these young men have the capability to start fresh. That is a huge plus for us. You hear all the time how people say `offense sells tickets, defense wins championships’ or vice versa or whatever, and that is as a false statement as any. Teams win championships, teams win games, not the offense, defense or special teams, but all three of those working together as one wins games. This is not just about offense, we have a lot to learn and get better at on defense and special teams as well.”

Q: “What have been some of your initial impressions of the student-athletes? What can you tell us about them?”
A: “I’m very fortunate to have a good group of young men that have great attitudes and hard work ethics. I have seen tremendous strides in our off-season workout programs, and that is true testament to their character. We have student-athletes here that do not want to settle for mediocrity, but want to win and win now and be apart of something special. All of them so far have shown that in their receptiveness to everything so far, and I’m glad to see that. I have nothing but positive remarks about our crop of student-athletes heading into spring practice.”

Q: “If you could paint your dream, best case scenario with what you are looking to get out of spring practice, what would that be?”
A: “To identify players at all positions that we can win with. I believe we have talent on the roster. The coaching staff and I are on the same page with philosophies and schemes that we will utilize during spring practice. Also, not only is it important to identify players who we feel give us the best chance to be successful on the field, but to also recognize areas that we need help. We have recruited and signed student-athletes that will fit the system that we are looking to run here, and after spring practice we will know if we will be relying on those young players to mature quickly in fall camp, or if we can give them time to develop.”

Q: “It is early on and you haven’t had a single practice yet, but can you tell us of any student-athletes being shuffled around to different positions?”
A: “We have made none of those changes as of yet. What we want to do is get a good handle on our personnel early on and then make those decisions. Sure we have some thoughts in mind, but we won’t know if those are conceivable thoughts until we get out there in practice. The coaching staff is going into this open-minded and will be observing every aspect and taking all things into consideration on moving players around. To give a player an honest shot at a position, you have to give him time to see if he can develop there.”

The Colonels complete practice schedule is listed below. The afternoon practices on school days will begin promptly at 3:30 p.m. and end approximately at 5:30 p.m. The Saturday morning sessions will have 10 a.m. start times. All spring practices are open to the public unless specified in release by Nicholls media relations for athletics department.

Date Time Location
Monday, March 29 3:30 p.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Tuesday, March 30 3:30 p.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Wednesday, March 31 3:30 p.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Wednesday April 1 - 10 No Practice (Spring Break/Campus Closed)
Monday, April 11 Team Meeting N/A
Monday, April 12 Team Conditioning Colonel Weight Room
Tuesday, April 13 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Wednesday, April 14 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Thursday, April 15 Meetings/Lifting Barker Hall/Colonel Weight Room
Friday, April 16 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Saturday, April 17 10 a.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Monday, April 19 Meetings/Lifting Barker Hall/Colonel Weight Room
Tuesday, April 20 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Wednesday, April 21 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Thursday, April 22 Meetings/Lifting Barker Hall/Colonel Weight Room
Friday, April 23 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Saturday, April 24 10 a.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Monday, April 26 Meetings/Lifting Barker Hall/Colonel Weight Room
Tuesday, April 27 3:30 pm. Colonel Practice Fields
Wednesday, April 28 3:30 p.m. Colonel Practice Fields
Thursday, April 29 Meetings/Lifting Barker Hall/Colonel Weight Room
Friday, April 30 3:30 p.m. John L. Guidry Stadium
Saturday, May 1 10 a.m. John L. Guidry Stadium

Note: All practice times and locations subject to change due to weather and/or the coaching staff’s digression.

Media Advisory: All coaches and player interviews will be readily made available to members of the media on Monday’s and Thursday’s during spring practice unless otherwise specified by Head Coach Charlie Stubbs. All student-athlete and/or coaches interview request are to be submitted to Director of Media Relations for Athletics/Football Contact Brandon Rizzuto in a timely fashion to best facilitate the requested parties for interviews. The office of media relations can be reached at 985-448-4281 or at brandon.rizzuto@nicholls.edu.

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Nicholls Media Relations
http://geauxcolonels.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/032610aaa.html