Redskins break in new positions at two-a-days

COSHOCTON – The Coshocton Redskins football team put on helmets Monday morning for the first practice of the summer.

The goal of the day was to get some players acclimated to their new positions.

Head coach Jim Woodrum said about four players switched positions this offseason in order to fill some of the holes on the roster.

"Our objective as a coaching staff is to get the best 11 players on the field," Woodrum said. "If that means we have a kid on the sideline that is maybe not good enough to be a starter at one position, but may be good enough in another position, we are going to put him at that position."

Some players practiced at their new positions for the first time, while others began work earlier in the offseason.

Whether they were training in the position for the first time or not, none of them complained. Even the seniors, who came into the season thinking they were going to be playing one position, but have had to change, didn't complain.

"A lot of guys switched positions today and they filled the roles pretty well," said senior Ray Durham. "There wasn't a lot of complaining about it either, which was a good thing."

"These kids are all about winning," Woodrum said. "They will do whatever it takes to win."

It will take more than a few position changes to win this year, it will take, the team meshing together.

The offensive line is the one group that will need to mesh well because of the losses from a year ago. On Monday the group stood out.

"This was their first day together as a unit and a couple of them are playing new positions, but I thought they did very well," Woodrum said.

Included in the Day 1 standouts, was starting quarterback Andrew Mason, who is entering his junior year, and the rest of the quarterbacks.

"We've lost a few great guys on offense, but we've had a lot of kids gain experience," Woodrum said. "Andrew looked good and so did all of our quarterbacks."

More important than how the quarterbacks perform will be how well they can command the offense, especially after the graduation loss of standout running back Dom Johns.

As the practice moved into team drills, Mason looked to have a strong grasp of the offense.

"(The offense) looked pretty solid today," senior Spencer McCrae said. "I think especially for some of the new stuff we are putting in we picked it up pretty well."

It is still the end of July, the official first day of practice isn't until Saturday, and the season doesn't begin until Aug. 28. There are some things that still need to be worked out for the Redskins, but the players aren't worried.

"I think we are going to be a well-oiled machine," Durham said. "We lost a couple people last year, but I think we still have a lot to show on Friday nights."

"This is a great group, as far as, work ethic," Woodrum said. "It is off the charts and obviously it showed today, because they work hard all of the time and they have all summer."

cteaguerob@gannett.com

740-295-3442

Twitter: @cj_teague