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Lamar opens spring football practice

Cardinals beat the weather with early morning workout

BEAUMONT, Texas — From Lamar Athletics

It was 48 hours later than originally scheduled but the Lamar University football finally opened spring camp Wednesday morning. After two days of lightning delays, the Cardinals stepped on the field at Provost Umphrey Stadium to finally begin preparations for the 2019 season.

“When we stepped on the field this morning it ended a 48-hour weather delay,” said LU head coach Mike Schultz. “That might be the longest practice delay in my career. I told these guys when we came out here that we didn’t have any reason to not be able to perform well because we just had an extra 48 hours to get ready for this. Our kids and the coaches handled it great. We finally got a break in the weather this morning and took advantage of it.”

Wednesday’s practice was a historical marker for the program as it’s the first spring workout following a trip to the NCAA FCS Playoffs. The Cardinals won six-straight games to close the 2018 and post a 7-4 regular-season mark and advance to the postseason.

The finish to the 2018 season, plus the fact that LU returns seven starters on offense – a number which doesn’t count 2018 SLC Newcomer of the Year Jordan Hoy because he started only three games – has a lot excitement surrounding the program for the upcoming season. The Cardinals do have gaps to fill, especially on the defense side of the ball where it lost seven starters.

“We lost numerous guys on the defensive side of the ball, but we have a lot of new guys in here working to fill those positions,” said Schultz. “It’s way too early to see how those positions will be filled for the long term. We have more newcomers on the way in the fall. We also graduated five receivers last season so we have some gaps on the offensive side as well.”

Despite not being considered a returning starter, Hoy garnered the league’s newcomer of the year award last season. It was High praise for a player who started just three games behind center but he took advantage of each start. Hoy was a perfect 3-0 in those starts and finished the season completing nearly 60 percent of his passes for 654 yards and six touchdowns. He also carried the ball 81 times for 516 yards and seven scores. Hoy’s efforts on the field were not lost on the rest of the league as he was voted as the Southland Offensive Player of the Week twice during that three-week stretch.

Assuming the weather holds up, the Cardinals are expected to be back on the field Thursday afternoon. All practices are closed to the public.

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