Northwestern University Athletics
Spring Drills: Practice 11 Report
4/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 15, 2010
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After holding what head coach Pat Fitzgerald called their "most intense practice" of the spring on Tuesday, the Wildcats followed up that strong outing with perhaps an even better one Thursday morning. Warm spring temperatures in the 70's (approximately 25 degrees warmer than normal) and bright sunshine helped fuel Thursday's strong session.
"It might have been our best practice of the spring," Fitzgerald said. "We're starting to make some significant progress. I like where we're at, but we've still got four critical practices left, starting with Saturday afternoon's scrimmage.
That scrimmage is set to be held on Ryan Field, which marks the Wildcats' first practice in their home stadium this spring. The scrimmage is also part of the Wildcats' annual coaches clinic weekend, which will bring over 100 high school coaches to campus this Friday and Saturday.
Some individual highlights from Thursday:
• Sophomore Arby Fields (Alto Loma, Calif./Los Osos), after going 2-for-4 with three runs scored in the Wildcats' 6-3 baseball win over Northern Illinois Wednesday night, was back on the practice field bright and early, catching passes and running through the heart of the Wildcat defense.
• Junior Jeremy Ebert (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) appears to be completely recovered from last year's hip injury. Ebert, who is back at full speed, made a great catch (from Dan Persa) on a corner route in seven-on-seven drills.
• Redshirt freshmen Drew Moulton (Freeland, Mich./Midland) and superback John Plasencia (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Jesuit) continue to make a number plays for the offense.
• NU's defensive line, led by Vince Browne (Lisbon, Ohio/David Anderson) and Jack DiNardo (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central), today's NUsports.com's "10 Questions With ..." interview, had a strong practice.
PRACTICE NOTES:
• Northwestern's scrimmage this Saturday (April 17), which is closed to the general public, but open to guests and friends/family of the program, will get underway at 2:15 p.m. on Ryan Field.
• The Big Ten Network's coverage of spring football got underway Wednesday night. Visit bigtennetwork.com for a complete listing of upcoming show times.
• A reminder that activities for NU's annual Spring Scrimmage on Saturday, April 24 gets underway at 11 a.m. on Walker Terrace. Parking lots open at 8 a.m. for tailgating. Parking and admission to the scrimmage are free.
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