Indiana University Athletics
Hoosiers Back on the Field
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
March 29, 2003
Bloomington, Ind. - Football is officially back in Bloomington.
The Indiana football team took the field for the first day of Spring practice on Saturday, playing with helmets, but no pads.
"They worked hard and they were into it," Second-year Head Coach Gerry DiNardo said of his Hoosiers. "Without pads, it's hard to evaluate anything, but the attitude was good. Today was a teaching day and we installed a lot, so that went well."
Junior quarterback Matt LoVecchio took snaps with the offense, after serving as the scout team quarterback all of last year, and found wide receiver Glenn Johnson with a perfect strike down the sidelines during the early drills. LoVecchio connected with Johnson with a bullet over the middle for a touchdown during 11-on-11 redzone practice.
Shining on the defensive side of the ball was linebacker Jason Cartwright, who not only put a solid hit on receiver Courtney Roby after a Roby grab heading toward the sideline, but also intercepted a pass over the middle.
One of the positions that figures to be much-improved from the end of last year is the safeties, where free safety Joe Gonzalez was back on the field after missing the final nine games of last year with a hernia. He was joined by strong safety Herana-Daze Jones, who is making the move from linebacker to the secondary. Jones intercepted a pass during practice.
Jones was one of a handful of players to switch positions from last year. Buster Larkins, formerly a safety, saw action as a cornerback on Saturday. Courtney Clency made the move from tailback to cornerback. A couple redshirts from last year's squad switched positions, as Andy Halterman went from tight end to linebacker and Troy Grosfield worked with both the kickers (his original position) and the wide receivers, making a highlight-reel one-handed grab at top speed in the back of the endzone.
Other changes from last year were a couple jersey numbers, as defensive lineman Russ Richardson switched from number 68 to number 55. Wide receiver Tyke Spencer is now wearing number 2 instead of the number 86 he wore last year. Fellow receiver David Lewis switched from 88 to 84. Safety Will Lumpkin suits up as number 4 now, as opposed to the 24 he wore last year.
