Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics
Cal Poly Football Begins Spring Practice with New Level of Physicality
4/2/2024 2:40:00 PM | Football
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — Physicality. That's the word second year head coach Paul Wulff used to describe what he hopes to see from his team during Spring Ball, which got underway on Monday and will consist of 15 practices, culminating with the Spring Game on April 27.
Returning 89 players from last year's roster along with seven new spring enrollees, Wulff and his staff are looking to see a higher level of execution in all three phases of the game.
"The biggest thing (this spring) is just creating an environment on offense, defense, and special teams of becoming a lot higher level of execution of our schemes," said Wulff. "We have a lot more experience back and so our expectation is to really hone in our concepts of what we're teaching and to show a higher level of physicality across the board to show that all the work our players have done to get bigger and stronger in the weight room is paying off to be able to show that in practice."
Cal Poly has plenty of experience returning to its roster as 41 of the 89 returners played in over half the games this past season. Just some of the notable ones back include All-American defensive end Elijah Ponder, who led the Big Sky and was top five in all of FCS in sacks last season and has many NFL scouts eying him.
Also back is quarterback Sam Huard, who last year set program records for passing touchdowns in a game and completions in a game. His 154 completions last year were the fifth most in program history and his 2,247 yards were the seventh most in single season history.
Of the seven newcomers, two are guys who signed NLI's, one a junior college transfer in linebacker Mikey D'Amato and the other a early high school graduate from Arizona in running back Jaedon Matthews. Matthews, originally a Georgia Tech commit, was highly rated in high school and had several Power 5 schools offer him. D'Amato originally went to Montana State out of high school before playing this past season at Saddleback College.
As to what fans can expect to see if they come out to a practice or the spring game, Wulff says it's that they will see a brand of football that is entertaining to watch.
"A bigger, stronger football team and players that have enough game experience now where they should see some exciting football with plays being made on both sides of the ball.
During the offseason, Wulff brought in new Co-Offensive Coordinator Timm Rosenbach, who brings over 30 years of coaching experience, onto the staff. He and quarterbacks coach Erik Meyer will be the Co-Offensive Coordinators calling plays which Wulff thinks will bring a dynamic, balanced look to the offense.
"We want to continue to be explosive whether it's in the run or pass game and keep people off balance as much as possible. I'm excited to see the run game evolve through spring practice in addition to our pass game with all the weapons we have returning on offense."
Cal Poly's spring game will take place April 27 starting at 11 a.m. at Mustang Memorial Field. It is open and free to all fans who want to attend with opportunities for fans and kids to interact with the players and coaches before and after the game.
Returning 89 players from last year's roster along with seven new spring enrollees, Wulff and his staff are looking to see a higher level of execution in all three phases of the game.
"The biggest thing (this spring) is just creating an environment on offense, defense, and special teams of becoming a lot higher level of execution of our schemes," said Wulff. "We have a lot more experience back and so our expectation is to really hone in our concepts of what we're teaching and to show a higher level of physicality across the board to show that all the work our players have done to get bigger and stronger in the weight room is paying off to be able to show that in practice."
Cal Poly has plenty of experience returning to its roster as 41 of the 89 returners played in over half the games this past season. Just some of the notable ones back include All-American defensive end Elijah Ponder, who led the Big Sky and was top five in all of FCS in sacks last season and has many NFL scouts eying him.
Also back is quarterback Sam Huard, who last year set program records for passing touchdowns in a game and completions in a game. His 154 completions last year were the fifth most in program history and his 2,247 yards were the seventh most in single season history.
Of the seven newcomers, two are guys who signed NLI's, one a junior college transfer in linebacker Mikey D'Amato and the other a early high school graduate from Arizona in running back Jaedon Matthews. Matthews, originally a Georgia Tech commit, was highly rated in high school and had several Power 5 schools offer him. D'Amato originally went to Montana State out of high school before playing this past season at Saddleback College.
As to what fans can expect to see if they come out to a practice or the spring game, Wulff says it's that they will see a brand of football that is entertaining to watch.
"A bigger, stronger football team and players that have enough game experience now where they should see some exciting football with plays being made on both sides of the ball.
During the offseason, Wulff brought in new Co-Offensive Coordinator Timm Rosenbach, who brings over 30 years of coaching experience, onto the staff. He and quarterbacks coach Erik Meyer will be the Co-Offensive Coordinators calling plays which Wulff thinks will bring a dynamic, balanced look to the offense.
"We want to continue to be explosive whether it's in the run or pass game and keep people off balance as much as possible. I'm excited to see the run game evolve through spring practice in addition to our pass game with all the weapons we have returning on offense."
Cal Poly's spring game will take place April 27 starting at 11 a.m. at Mustang Memorial Field. It is open and free to all fans who want to attend with opportunities for fans and kids to interact with the players and coaches before and after the game.
Players Mentioned
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