After taking a week off for spring break, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff football team got back to work as spring practice resumed this week.
Head coach Alonzo Hampton said the players returned on Monday but didn’t hold a full practice again until Tuesday.
“We did conditioning, kind of get that spring break out of them,” Hampton said. “Then, we went on Tuesday, had a really good day. Shells, kind of reacclimating, trying to get everybody back in the groove of it. Then, we knew (Wednesday) was going to be full pads. You saw a lot of good on both sides, guys flying around.”
Spring practice began on March 18 with three consecutive practice days before the Golden Lions left for spring break. Hampton said the spring football schedule is determined by the university’s final exam schedule, which led to spring break falling during the 15-practice spring season.
Tuesday was the first of another three straight practice days, with Wednesday being the first practice in full pads. After Thursday’s practice, the next UAPB practice will be April 7.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Although spring break interrupted practice after one week, Hampton said the break gave the coaches time to watch film before the second week of work. The Easter weekend will give them time to do so again before getting into week three.
Starting next week, practice weeks will shift from three straight days of work to a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday schedule for the remaining three weeks. The days between practices will be used to watch film.
“Now, it’s going to slow down,” Hampton said. “We’re throwing a lot at them just to see who can retain the information. Defensively, a lot of the stuff is the same, but we’re adding a couple of wrinkles to it, because at times, we were good, and at times, we wasn’t.”
With the Golden Lions putting on full pads on Wednesday, the physicality ramped up. During one team session midway through practice, there were multiple big hits by defensive players in quick succession that drew reactions from the sideline.
Hampton said defensive players such as junior college transfer Keiyhaun Wilks and returning players Marquis Cagle and Tylan Cole are showing their abilities as practice gets more physical, but he also likes what he has seen from the offensive line.
“You got three guys back on the offensive line that played a lot, Nick Carter and EJ Pullins,” Hampton said. “We’re excited about what we’ve been able to do. We’ll continue to add to it, and the guys that we’ve added can play multiple positions on the offensive line.”
Hampton said UAPB is not yet ready to announce its new offensive coaching staff as administrative details are still being finalized, but all coaches are now on campus working with the team as it prepares for Hampton’s fourth season in charge.
Spring practice will conclude April 25 with the Black and Gold Spring Game at Simmons Bank Field.