Spring football practices underway for Northern Michigan

MARQUETTE — Northern Michigan is in the middle of their spring practices and looking to get back into the flow of things on the football field.

The Wildcats have been waking up at the crack of dawn for the past week for spring football practices. For some, it was a time to get back into the swing of football and brushing up on the basics. And for others, it will be a time to get fully immersed in the team’s philosophy on both sides of the ball.

“We want to install our playbook and get the basics down so when we come in the fall, we can play faster. But right now, it’s a lot of teaching and getting the younger guys up to speed pretty much,” linebacker Levi Perry said.

“With me being a running back, of course I want to work on that run game. But I’m very excited for Shaye Brown. He’s an older, more disciplined quarterback and I think he’s going to do very well this year,” running back Wyatt Jurasin said.

“The biggest thing we want to do is have that locker room have a great understanding of what it means to be a Wildcat and what it means to play football here at Northern. And I think we’re getting closer and closer,” said Coach Chris Ostrowsky.

Offensively, Coach Ostrowsky is pleased with the development of quarterback Shaye Brown and the energy of the players as a whole. Defensively, he says it’s all about their speed, which they will plenty of. But he adds that this is an important time to bring in the players, even if we’re several months away from the official start of the season.

“Playing with a commitment to how we feel we want to play the game, in terms of passion and energy, I think is a critical component to what we’re trying to accomplish with our culture. And then obviously the football aspect of things, it’s about our basic fundamentals. We get fifteen practices and everything we do is really with an emphasis on paying attention to detail,” Ostrowsky said.

Tomorrow, the Wildcats will hold their first scrimmage at the Superior Dome. They have seven more practices which include another scrimmage as well. It all wraps up on the 18th with the Spring Game and Free Youth Clinic.