MACOMB, Ill.- Contrary to what the weather might feel like, the Western Illinois football team kicked off its spring season with their first practice, participating in helmet-only workouts.

“I was impressed today with the minimal mental mistakes that we made, especially when you factor in the really tough practice conditions,” said Western Illinois head coach Don Patterson. “I thought the guys did a good job at concentrating through the drills and you saw very few mental mistakes, which is a very good sign. It's an indication that the coaches have done a good job at preparing the players and the players have been conscientious in learning their assignment and concentrating on any given play.”

The spring practices will give an opportunity for coaches to address areas on both sides of the ball, as the Leathernecks look to replace a strong senior class from 2008.

“Graduation is always going to leave holes for any team,” stated Patterson. “We don't lose much in the way of defensive backs of course, but we lose some defensive lineman and the linebackers, which are the most obvious spots to fill on the defensive side. On offense, we lose very little as far as starters, but we still need to replace lineman, a very high quality running back and fullback and an outstanding receiver. We have holes across the board, but that's the way it's always going to be because the senior class always plays an important role on any football team.”

After beginning the day with group drills, Western moved into 7-on-7 skeletons. Once they were completed with 7-on-7 work, the Leathernecks broke back down into groups before eventually ending the outside portion of practice with full offense and defense walkthroughs. The first official practice of spring ended by moving inside to Western Hall to work on special teams.

Along with the opportunity for coaches to address players, spring practices also gives players an opportunity to move up the depth charts.

“I think we are going to have excellent competition at all kinds of positions,” Patterson said. “We have a lot of quality depth at linebacker which leads to good competition there. The offensive line had losses due to graduation so you'll see some competition there as well. There will be very healthy competition at the quarterback position between the three guys that are there this spring as well, along with the receivers position. All of those spots will have healthy competition this spring which will lead to quality depth.”

The practice was the first of 14 practices that will lead up to the 2009 Bruce Craddock Memorial Scrimmage to be held April 25 at 1:05 p.m. on Hansen Field.