Day 6: Family

April 7
Coach Rob Ambrose is a well-known family man. One of the first reasons he gave for taking the head coaching job was to be with his 8 year-old daughter on birthdays. He hired his younger brother onto his coaching staff. And he reminds his players everyday that they are a family. Every huddle is broken on the word family.

"We're trying to get them to play hard, fast," Defensive Coordinator Matt Hachmann said. "Coach Ambrose does a good job managing the culture around here."

Day 6 of practice once again raised the intensity of the atmosphere. The coaching staff, seeking to eliminate all mental errors, has enforced a stricter discipline procedure for players.

When players were caught walking in between drills, everyman on the field would do up-downs until the coaching staff told them to stop. If any player would commit a procedural.

On the brighter side, the constant yelling seems to finally be heard by the players. Especially seen on the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers look to be in mid-season form compared to last spring.

The offense has had the hustle, but as a unit there's still some rough edges that need smoothing. There are a few concerns right now as far as chemistry is concerned.

The first is to solid five quality starters on the offense, establishing one strong unit. This squad has been plagued with injuries the past few years, and has seen several guys get quality start time. For returning offensive line Coach John Donatelli, this presents a good problem. He has an abundance of experience, and has the task of forming a strong front for this offense.

The second is quarterback to receiver chemistry. Sean Schaefer will be hard to replace. There's a great deal of talent to step up to the unit, in Blair Peterson and Brian Potts. Both have great arm strength and good vision. However, with only a few weeks of time to gel with the receivers, there's been some difficulty connecting on certain routs.

During the pride drill Tuesday, every interception thrown was a ball tipped by a receiver. Often because the receivers was not in position to make the catches where the quarterbacks placed them.

The talent is there, and there's more hustle than ever before. All they need is chemistry. To win, they MUST be a family.

"The most important thing is these kids need to learn how to play football and making a winning commitment to one another," Hachmann said.