The sun has not yet risen over the Santa Lucia Mountains, but already cries of “55 RED!” can be heard from the fields of the Cal Poly Sports Complex. It’s 6:54 a.m. and Cal Poly football players are on the field for practice, their breath rising in puffs of steam.
Last year ended abruptly. Heading into its matchup against UC Davis in the season finale, Cal Poly found themselves in a win-or-go-home scenario. If the Mustangs beat their cross-state rival, they would likely head into posteason play. If they lost, the Mustangs would watch the playoffs from home.
Following a 19-point second-half rally by the Aggies, the Mustangs found themselves cleaning out their lockers for the season.
This season, the Mustangs have revenge on their mind. With spring practice with third-year head coach Tim Walsh, the team has its eyes set on a bounce-back year.
To do so, the Mustangs are picking up the pace.
During practice, a whistle blows, coaches yell out directions and the players split into offensive and defensive drills without a moment to rest or catch their breath.
“Things are moving all of the time, and it’s a tempo we want to play with,” Walsh said.
The fast tempo allows the team to cut down on conditioning and run more drills. The Mustangs build muscle strength by practicing with fewer breaks, instead of switching between workouts and drills.
It’s all part of Walsh’s strategy for preparing the team for the challenging and uncertain season ahead. Among other games, the Mustangs are up against two Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams this year: San Diego State and Northern Illinois.
San Diego State was 9-4 last season, and went on to defeat Navy in the Poinsettia Bowl. Northern Illinois went 11-3, while also going a perfect 8-0 in the Mid-American Conference.
“We don’t have a lot of games on the schedule where as a coach you’d say, ‘We’re going to win these games,’” Walsh said.
Despite the tough matchups, or perhaps because of them, the Mustangs are determined to make this season a strong one, especially after the way last year’s season finished, freshman cornerback Kevin Britt said.
“(We have) a chip on our shoulders,” Britt said.
7:30 a.m. — The opportunity to grow
The sun has just peeked over the mountains. The players are running drills on special teams.
Coaches at each group yell things like, “There you go!” “45 degrees!” and “HUT!” as defensive linemen duck and weave around trash barrels.
Several offensive linemen pause to hydrate, but only for a moment. They grab some water from their bottles, splash some on their faces and immediately returm to blocking drills.
Andre Broadous, who is expected to be the starting quarterback this season, said the entire team is excited to be back on the field. A fast pace allows the team more repetitions of each drill, 150 on average, compared to 100 last season, Broadous said.
“With more reps it’s making our team better as a whole,” Broadous said.
It’s still early into spring practice and the effort put in on the field is already paying off, Walsh said.
“I think overall we’re going to be the most physically talented and the deepest that we’ve been in the two years I’ve been here,” Walsh said.
With 16 returning starters, Walsh wants to use practice as an “opportunity for our young players to grow.”
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Lance Castaneda, said the new practice style is a big part of helping younger players step up.
“It’s way more upbeat,” Castaneda said. “Everything’s fast, fast, fast from one drill to the next.”
7:50 a.m. — Playing as a team
That speed shows.
At 7:50 a.m., after 20 minutes of special teams drills and no break in between, the players have gathered back together as a single team. The offensive and defensive lines are in the trenches, while players watch and call out encouragement — or insults — from the sidelines.
“Get there! Get there! Get there!” a coach yells.
“Man, Dre’, you can’t throw for shit!” — a player taunts the quarterback.
When a pass misses its mark and one of the defensive linemen drops the interception, all of the players on defense groan before dropping to the ground as a group to do push-ups.
Redshirt freshman running back Chris Nicholls said the team’s energy is a good starting point, as every player throws himself into each drill. He said the team will need to keep up the energy to have a good year.
“It’s a long season, college football,” Nicholls said. “You stay consistent and work hard.”
8:40 a.m. — From sports to scholastics
A final whistle blows and the players gather around Walsh in a huddle.
“Good tempo,” he tells the team, once again stressing the pace with which the Mustangs are attacking practice this spring.
With a word of advice not to neglect their class work, Walsh congratulates the team on a successful practice and lets them go.
The sun is hanging above the mountains now. The field is deserted, and the Cal Poly campus is beginning to fill with students headed to their first classes of the day.