College football: UW-Stout savoring rare opportunity to practice in pads this spring
Apr. 9—Simply being out on the football field is a joy for players at UW-Stout.
If they had to practice in street clothes every day to get on the field, they'd probably do it. But there's no doubt about it: When the Blue Devils are able to strap up their pads and helmets, it feels like the sport in its truest form.
This spring has been quite the treat in that regard.
The NCAA is allowing Division III football teams to conduct spring practice in full pads this year, a rare occurrence that has the Blue Devils buzzing.
"Losing out on the fall season, we were able to get out there a little bit for some practices and get a few team things in," said junior Sean Borgerding, Stout's starting quarterback for the last two seasons. "But getting back out there this spring and having a full spring ball experience with pads has been fun. It almost gives you a little bit of that fall camp-type feel, so it's just been a lot of fun to be out there and play some real football again."
Ordinarily, spring practices at the Division III level are more concept-oriented than geared toward working on something concrete. Now that pads are in the mix, teams can work in live, game-like situations.
It's put some extra zip in the Blue Devils' step. In the fall, Stout only had four practices with pads involved.
"At first in the fall, we were just out there with nothing, playing backyard football," Blue Devils head coach Clayt Birmingham said. "Then it was, 'Hey, we get to wear helmets,' and the kids got excited. Then it was wearing shoulder pads and they were excited again. By the time we got to wear full pads, it was getting too cold outside. But it kept them having something to look forward to.
"And it's hard to work on the fundamentals of the game with no pads on, so it's been nice this spring to re-install your whole offense and defense. Having pads on, you can teach them the right way to tackle, to strike, to block. So that's been nice."
Practicing in full gear is nothing new for Division I and Division II programs, which do it each spring. But it doesn't happen in Division III, based off a slew of concerns often voiced at the administrative level of the Division. Those include ample access to athletic training staff and availability of facilities, among others.
But Division III squads have been able to use pads this year as the pandemic wiped out the fall season and forced some schools to play their schedules in the spring.
Now they're enjoying the benefits of this rare opportunity. Practicing in pads adds a game-like element to practice that the Blue Devils feel can be valuable in the long run.
"You're able to have a little more contact in practice, a little more of a real feeling in the team setting," Borgerding said. "You're able to actually do some live game reps, and that part's been really nice."
This spring in particular is key to make up for lost time from last season's cancellation. Teams could only practice last fall and were limited in what they could do.
Now they're trying to get as many reps as possible to get back up to speed.
"I think the biggest thing we're trying to get out of it is the reps," Borgerding said. "We're trying to make the most of each rep. It's about learning the new tweaks that we've made with the system and getting it on film. Then you can use it as teaching tape going forward."
Spring football practices are often experimental. They're the place for coaches to see how a player might fare in a new position, or to try out new schemes.
It can help make a noticeable difference on a team when the fall season rolls around.
"We've got an opportunity to do those things, and it's also a good time to evaluate our freshman class a little bit more since we didn't have much time with them in the fall," Birmingham said.
Stout started spring practice in early March, and will wrap things up in a couple of weeks. Until then, the Blue Devils are aiming to make the most of it.
"The kids love it," Birmingham said. "They just want to play."
