Mustang News Staff Report
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It’s that time of year again.
The sun is out, people are beginning to dread the return of school and the Cal Poly football team’s training camp has finally kicked off.
This year, the Mustangs look a little different, with 19 freshman faces at head coach Tim Walsh’s fall camp.
“Watching them today, I was really impressed with the freshman class,” Walsh said. “They did some great things, but they’re going to have to be mentally and physically ready to go full-speed for all two hours.”
Freshman defensive back Jonathan LaBonty had a nice debut, intercepting a pair of passes during seven-on-seven drills. Sam Ogee, a 6-foot-5, 285-pound freshman offensive lineman, made quite an impression, matching up well against more experienced defensive lineman.
“Lots of things I saw I was very impressed with,” Walsh said. “I think we got the pieces to the puzzle to not only have a great now, but also a really good future.”
This is the earliest fall training has started for the football program, as a result of its early season opener against New Mexico State on Aug. 28.
The Mustangs finished last season in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Big Sky Conference, with a 5-3 record. The team is projected by media and coaches to finish fourth in the Big Sky again this upcoming season, but Walsh felt differently.
“We’re going to make some additions on defense that we think will be critical to our success,” he said.
Walsh said the 16 returning starters and 58 returning lettermen give Cal Poly the experience it needs to move forward from last year’s mediocre season.
“You learn from your past,” Walsh said. “You don’t dwell on your past, but we gotta play better.”
Whether or not the scars of last season remain on the returning 58 players, one thing is certain: It didn’t show at Friday’s opening practice.
Nick Larson and Julian Del Gaudio contributed to this report.