Cal Poly Football Team Dons Full Pads for First Time Wednesday
8/10/2022 4:45:00 PM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- After five days of conditioning and non-contact drills, the 105 or so Cal Poly football players in Fall Camp put on the full pads Wednesday.
The themes of the day were "a ton of growth," improved pad levels by both the offensive and defensive linemen and even a skirmish or two among fellow teammates.
Third-year Cal Poly head football coach Beau Baldwin started his post-practice interview by pointing out "a ton of growth from a year ago. Even from four months ago (in Spring Camp), you can see the growth of our players in the offseason.
"You go back and forth," Baldwin added. "Whenever you practice, you're going to have periods where you do things at a high level and other things ... I don't like to use the term fail, but ... we're all going to fail. It's how you respond to it. That's the message I have right there. You never want to get too high or too low. When you think you got it all figured out, you get too confident, and when you get too low, when you get down, you've got to be able to bounce back and respond.
"I'm excited about where we are as a ball club. Every day, just sharpening."
The Mustangs are in the midst of a stretch of 19 practice sessions in Fall Camp, which will feature scrimmages on August 17 and 24 on the new FieldTurf surface inside Alex G. Spanos Stadium. Preparations for the nationally televised (FS1) season opener Sept. 1 at Fresno State begin August 26.
Are the Mustangs on schedule for the second meeting with the Bulldogs in as many years?
"Coaches always want more time," said Baldwin. "When you reach a certain level, there's no ceiling, so we're going to keep on climbing and pushing it to that level."
During the first of two periods of 11-on-11 drills, there was some pushing and shoving after plays were over as emotions were high on the initial day of practice with full pads.
"You're always going to have some of that," said Baldwin. "What I don't want is if it keeps extending. If it's immediate and authentic at that moment, you're going to have some of that. If you don't have any of that, you probably don't have enough edge. You just have to make sure it's not extended into wasted time."
The second 11-on-11 drill produced a touchdown on a nine-yard run by freshman running back Paul Holyfield, a graduate of Chaminade College Prep in Los Angeles.
Wednesday's two-hour practice session featured 41 veterans off last year's roster along with 22 players who were true freshmen and played in at least one game but no more than four, preserving their redshirt year.
Also on the field were five transfers from four-year schools, two community college transfers, 13 redshirts or squad members who did not play at all in 2021 and 28 newcomers from the high school ranks.
The roster includes more than 30 players wearing Mustang green, white and black jerseys for the first time, as well as five new assistant coaches.
What they all saw during the first week of Fall Camp was considerable improvement along the offensive and defensive fronts, particularly with pad levels.
"What I will single out is both fronts, like when we had some of our inside run periods, have gotten their pad levels and strength to a level that looks different than what we had, even in the spring and definitely from a year ago," said Baldwin. "I am really excited about both fronts taking that step to the next level."
This week's drills also marked the arrival of a few more players, including wide receiver Dominique Thompson, who had to complete some paperwork in order to be eligible to practice. Thompson caught 74 passes for 1,388 yards and 18 touchdowns as a senior at Cypress High School in Orange County before spending the next four years of his life competing for playing time at Utah.
"He's in camp, but he can't really do anything yet like the other guys," said Baldwin, noting that players late to camp must complete several days of conditioning before putting on the pads and joining the other players for contact drills. "He's got to come earn it just like any of these other freshmen and guys coming back ... they've got to keep earning it.
"We're human, you have an idea and we understand where he played last year," Baldwin added, "but you've got to keep hitting it ... he's got to earn it."
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