Spring Fling

Cord Tate is concerned. So is Michael Hodges. The two Edmond Santa Fe quarterbacks headed into the beginning of spring practice looking to separate themselves as the No. 1 option. A good May, they say, could mean a productive August when the teams begin summer workouts for the 2007 season. But high school football practice in the spring - two hours a day for 10 days - is less about depth charts and more fundamentals. While one player could certainly distance himself from another, most coaches say that spring practice is all about team and less about the individual. "There's still the pressure there,'' said Tate, one of two quarterbacks at Santa Fe vying for the starting position come August. "You want to get going and you want to get better. You're definitely kind of nervous.'' Nervous, because at Santa Fe, the quarterback question is yet to be answered, and Tate knows that a good May is important. But should he be concerned? "I think someone could help or hurt themselves in the spring,'' said Edmond Memorial coach Mark Walker, who has a returning quarterback in Pete Towne, who will likely head into the summer as the No. 1 quarterback for the Bulldogs. "But what we do is get an overall idea of what we have.'' Maybe the position battles are a bit overrated when it comes to spring practice, yet it's only natural to start penciling in players. "You're always competing,'' said Putnam North coach Bob Wilson, who also has the luxury of a returning quarterback in Matt Veazey. "But I think for us, it's about learning, more than anything. We'll deal with all that other stuff in August. For now, there's lots of teaching. You evaluate as far as speed, but as far as getting in someone's face and having the players get after it and stuff, that's not what it's about.'' And while it seems that much is made at the college level from spring practice, as witnessed by the 92,000 who showed up at Alabama to watch its spring game, and by the crowd at Oklahoma to see the Sooners' quarterback situation, rarely is a decision of significance made. OU hasn't decided who its quarterback will be, so the likelihood that Midwest City makes a choice is slim, too. "For us, it's fundamentals,'' said Bomber coach Steve Huff. "We have a few kids who we feel good about, but we we're mostly about fundamentals. We know that we're trying to get more football savvy and smart. I think if you win or lose a job in the spring, it's on attitude and effort, not on ability. If you are doing things right and working hard, good things happen, but if you don't, you could be behind the 8-ball. You still evaluate different things, but for the most part we are trying to get the fundamentals handled.'' Coaches may look at fundamentals, but the players are looking at performance. "I know there's some pressure because everyone is watching,'' said Santa Fe's Hodges. "Competition for us starts day one. Then we go to camp in June and then we come back here in August.'' Said Santa Fe coach Dan Cocannouer, who said that his quarterbacks will get charted on every throw in spring practice: "We're going to give them both an opportunity,'' he said of Tate and Hodges. "I don't envision the spring practice being the determining factor. Our biggest deal, if there's anything new, you don't have to wait until August to get going. There's always one or two players who are trying to step it up and that's beneficial for me.'' And some coaches, like Walker at Memorial said he doesn't make any decisions on any position until just a few days before game day. "Our kids know that we play the best 11 guys,'' Walker said. "It's not political. Every spot is based on performance. Kids think sometimes they have earned the right to play. But this isn't church league softball, and I'm all out of stars and cookies. You never know what can happen.''