Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Start Second Week of Spring Ball
4/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 8, 2008
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern began its second week of spring drills Tuesday morning with a 20-period full-pad practice. The Wildcats will conduct two more workouts this week (Wednesday and Thursday) before holding their first spring scrimmage this Saturday.
It was a typical early spring full-pad practice, with the board drill and the team periods highlighting the Tuesday session.
In the board drill, the offense won 12 bouts to the defense's 10, despite two defensive players, redshirt freshmen Vince Browne (Lisbon, Ohio/David Anderson) and Jack DiNardo (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central), both going 2-0 in their battles.
Both DiNardo and Browne are two of the younger players pushing NU's veteran returnees up front. One of those veterans is junior Corey Wootton (Rutherford, N.J./Don Bosco Prep). After practice, Wootton spoke with NUsports.com about his spring season thus far. He talked about his role as a leader on the defensive line with many new players getting more playing time, how he and his teammates are adjusting to a new defensive coordinator and line coach, and other topics.
Watch Wootton's interview with NUsports.com
Northwestern returns to the practice field Wednesday morning.
PRACTICE NOTES:
• Former Northwestern cornerback Harold Blackmon, now an assistant football coach at North Park University in Chicago, attended practice on Tuesday.
• Monday night, Northwestern's football program invited several former players back for a "Career Night." The purpose was to provide the current players with an opportunity to meet with former NU football players who could give them an idea of how
their current experiences will prepare them for success in the real world.
In addition, they spoke about the importance of networking and how they can
parlay their current situation into an opportunity in their desired industry when their football career comes to an end. The former NU players who returned to speak were: Ray Bogenrief (law associate for Kirkland & Ellis); Jeff Dyra (residential real estate for Town Realty); Josh Kolar (assistant U.S. attorney for northern district of Indiana); Doug Szymul (ESPN Sports Marketing); Sam Valenzisi (vice president of Lincoln International LLC); and Hugh Williams (senior director for Cushman & Wakefield).
• Senior linebacker Malcolm Arrington (Rochester Hills, Mich./Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep) notched the defensive play of the day, snaring an interception that resulted in six points during 11-on-11 drills.
• A reminder to NU fans who plan to attend the Spring Game on April 26: arrive at 9 a.m. in time to take part in the inaugural "Walk for Randy" -- for further information, click here.
