Tech Offense Gets More Consistent in Spring Practice No. 4

RUSTON, La. – Louisiana Tech’s offense continued to improve in its consistency Monday afternoon as the team practiced for over two hours at Joe Aillet Stadium. The team continued its practice plan that has been installed over the previous three practices and began refining the offensive system taught to date in Monday’s practice. “It was another competitive day today,” commented head coach Sonny Dykes. “I thought Ahmad Paige did a lot of good things today and made a couple of big plays. There were some long throws which showed the quarterbacks are improving. What I like is that we’re starting to get a little more consistent and have less and less mental errors, which is pretty encouraging.” As the team continues its work through spring practice, there has been less of a separation between the ones and twos as there has been the twos challenging the ones in spring camp. “I’m starting to see the guys that are twos start to develop and start to push some of the guys that are ones,” Dykes said. “Right now I don’t have a whole lot of starters, it is just an open competition for spots and I have been really happy with some of our walk-on players who have done a great job of stepping in and competing. They are pushing a lot of these guys that are on scholarship which is encouraging.” A portion of practice is always reserved for special teams where Dykes feels confident in the kicking and return game. “It [special teams] has been good,” said Dykes. “Our kicker has done a good job but our punter is still a work in progress. We need to get a little bit more consistent at punter. We have a couple of guys competing for the job but nobody has stood out so far. I think we’ve got some pretty good returners that can make some things happen. Obviously, when we get [Phillip] Livas back and operating at full speed, he will be a weapon for us as well. We’re trying to see who can do what on special teams and find out what the personality of our team from a special teams standpoint is going to be. That takes some time to figure out.” Offensively, the next step is to continue refining the offense while instilling a greater sense of toughness in the receiving corps. “The big thing we have to do is just get a little bit tougher at some of our skill position spots, particularly at wide receiver,” explained Dykes. “A lot of this offense is built on wide receiver blocking, both on a run game and by getting the ball to the perimeter and our spring passing game. That’s going to be an area of emphasis for us – getting those guys tougher on the perimeter and more consistent in their blocking. I think it is something that is a little bit different than what they are used to, but we have to improve there.” Dykes also announced that, as of now, all spring practices will be held at Joe Aillet Stadium. All practices are open to the public and Bulldog fans are encouraged to come out and support the team. Louisiana Tech returns to work on Wednesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. at Joe Aillet Stadium for the fifth practice of spring ball. For complete coverage of Bulldog Football, please visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com. Louisiana Tech head coach Sonny Dykes \"It was another competitive day today. I thought Ahmad Paige did a lot of good things today and made a couple of big plays. There were some long throws which showed the quarterbacks are improving. What I like is that we’re starting to get a little more consistent and have less and less mental errors, which is pretty encouraging.\" On seeing any separation between ones and twos: \"Not really. The good thing is that I’m starting to see the guys that are twos start to develop and start to push some of the guys that are ones. Right now I don’t have a whole lot of starters, it is just an open competition for spots and I have been really happy with some of our walk-on players who have done a great job of stepping in and competing. They are pushing a lot of these guys that are on scholarship which is encouraging.\" On running backs: \"The backs have probably been the most consistent group so far this spring. I’ve been really happy with the way those guys have been performing and as a group they are doing a good job and blocking well. What I like about our running backs is that they are all a little bit different. [Lennon] Creer has some good speed and can be physical while [Lyle] Fitte is more of a speed guy and [D.J.] Morrow is kind of a combination of both. It’s good as we have three different kinds of backs that can do different things and they have all done a pretty good job this spring.\" On talent: \"The big thing we have to do is just get a little bit tougher at some of our skill position spots, particularly at wide receiver. A lot of this offense is built on wide receiver blocking, both on a run game and by getting the ball to the perimeter and our spring passing game. That’s going to be an area of emphasis for us – getting those guys tougher on the perimeter and more consistent in their blocking. I think it is something that is a little bit different than what they are used to, but we have to improve there.\" On Special Teams: \"It has been good. Our kicker has done a good job but our punter is still a work in progress. We need to get a little bit more consistent at punter. We have a couple of guys competing for the job but nobody has stood out so far. I think we’ve got some pretty good returners that can make some things happen. Obviously, when we get [Phillip] Livas back and operating at full speed, he will be a weapon for us as well. We’re trying to see who can do what on special teams and find out what the personality of our team from a special teams standpoint is going to be. That takes some time to figure out.\"