First session kicks off spring football practice

It's a good thing the chain-link fence surrounding the IU football team's practice field isn't quite finished. Midway through drills Saturday, the first spring practice session for the Hoosiers, freshman wide receiver Troy Grosfield made a spectacular, one-handed grab on a long pass from freshman quarterback Graeme McFarland.\nGrosfield caught the ball in stride at the very back of the end-zone but didn't stop. A week later and a completed fence would have quickly halted his momentum. As it was, the wideout ran harmlessly past the perimeter of the field and returned to drills after drawing wows from the small group of onlookers.\nThat was just one of the sights in IU's first football action since last November. Second-year coach, Gerry DiNardo, said he is looking for improvements after last year's team struggled to a 3-9 record.\nDiNardo said he was satisfied with the practice but added it's too early to make any kind of definitive evaluation.\n"Without pads, it's hard to evaluate anything," he said. "But I think the attitude was good, and the guys were listening to the coaches. It's just you can't really evaluate a contact sport without contact. But I was pleased."\nMcFarland and junior Matt LoVecchio alternated snaps at quarterback in different drills throughout the day. LoVecchio looked impressive at times, including a line drive touchdown pass to senior wideout Glenn Johnson during 11 on 11 drills. \nLoVecchio played quarterback for Notre Dame and led them to seven straight wins and a Fiesta Bowl appearance as a freshman before transferring to IU last year, where he ran the scout team. Although that experience would seemingly make him a frontrunner for the starting position, DiNardo said it is an open competition between the two quarterbacks. \n"I don't know how you couldn't give them both a chance," he said. "They both certainly deserve it. They've both done things in their past that indicate they can be a starting quarterback, so we'll let those two guys compete. They've both done some outstanding things since they've both been on campus, and that translates into they both deserve a chance."\nIU returns a talented corps of skilled players from last year's squad including wide receivers Johnson, junior Courtney Roby and sophomores Tyke Spencer and fullback John Pannozzo. Last year Johnson, Roby and Spencer combined for over 2,000 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. \nRoby said he caught 300 passes a day every other day during the winter conditioning to try and decrease his dropped passes. After leading IU in receiving last season, he now has to adjust to a new set of quarterbacks, a process that began Saturday when the wideout reeled in numerous catches from both signal callers.\n"In a sense it is (difficult) because we didn't really get a chance to catch with these guys last year," Roby said. "But that's what spring football is for and of course the summer and summer camps and everything. So we'll get it clicking."\nLoVecchio said the experience of Roby and the rest of the skill players was evident even on the first day of practice. \n"I think having almost all of the skill position guys back is a real positive thing," he said. "We were out there the first day, and everyone pretty much knows what to do. There's a couple brain cramps, but I think having those skill guys is important."\nA handful of players found themselves in new positions Saturday, the most significant of which was junior Herana-Daze Jones' shift from linebacker to strong safety. Jones started 10 of 11 games as linebacker for IU last year and was the second leading tackler with 108.\nJones said DiNardo approached him about making the change, and said it was the right move.\n"It's always exciting to get back out there, especially with the new position," Jones said. "But I was welcome to the shift. Either (DiNardo) was going to approach me or I was going to approach him about it."\nIn other moves, sophomore Courtney Clency and redshirt freshman Tyrone Allen each moved from running back to cornerback, and junior Patrick Thompson shifted from wide receiver to tight end. \nLast year when DiNardo first arrived, he said 10 percent of the roster passed the team's conditioning test. In March, the last time the team was tested, 69 percent of the squad passed. It's that kind of strides that have DiNardo optimistic for a better year, he said. \n"We've had a really good offseason, and we're really excited about some of the progress we've made," he said. "You do all that so you can play better. We'll see if we can turn that into better play, a better team . . . We've made huge gains in conditioning. We need to make the same improvement in strength and the same improvement in playing the game"