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OGDEN — The Weber State football program is changing expectations.
No longer is the team focused on being competitive; instead, the program is focused on continual improvement, with no ceiling on performance and results.
As the Wildcats conducted their first scrimmage of the spring Friday, there were positive signs of where the team is going — signs Weber fans should be encouraged by.
The performance in the approximately 90-play scrimmage left Wildcats coach Jay Hill feeling encouraged.
“I thought today was a big step forward for us,” he said. “The defense was very physical and active today. The offense made some big plays and did a good job of moving the ball. We have to continue to develop our depth and we still had some penalties and mistakes that cost us, but overall we did a lot of good things.”
First, there is a definite quarterback competition brewing, as Jadrian Clark was 9-of-14 for 86 yards and had two touchdowns. Billy Green threw for 38 yards and had a 13-yard touchdown to Cameron Livingston. Chad Leckington also threw for 110 yards and a touchdown.
Jadrian Clark, Billy Green and Chad Leckington all threw touchdowns in Friday's scrimmage.
“I thought the offense did a good job of making some plays,” Hill said. “… I thought they did a good job of moving the ball. One thing I’m seeing right now is there’s too many administrative penalties.
“Jadrian did a lot of great things in the two-minute drill. I’d like to see him hit a couple throws early here in practice. Where Jadrian’s really going to help us is when he gets into the read-run game.
“Chad’s made a lot of great throws throughout camp, and he’s really been the quarterback that’s stepped forward the most. Billy Green didn’t get a lot of reps today; I suspect he’ll get a lot more reps the next scrimmage.”
While the offensive battles are of note, the Weber defense played well in the scrimmage. On defense, the Wildcats had sacks by Romello Dixon, Karsen Liljenquest and Rayshawn Henderson. The defense also had several tackles for loss, with Emmett Tela making two tackles in the backfield.
Hill, who will have a more involved role with the defense this season, said the defense is playing good football at this point in the spring.
“The defense did a good job of flying around,” he said. “I thought there was times they were very physical. We’ve still got a bunch of assignment issues to clean up, especially with the backups, but for the most part we’ve tried to keep it pretty simple and let them fly around.”
With two weeks of practice under the Wildcats’ belt, Hill said Weber is improving but is far from reaching potential.
“There’s a part of me that always wishes we were a little farther ahead than we are, even,” he said, “but I think relative to where we were last spring, we’re about to where I’d hoped we’d be at this point."
While the Wildcats are pushing forward, Hill said player development is a key for the team.
“We’ve got to continue to develop our depth,” he said. “There’s a noticeable, huge drop-off right now when we stick our (backups) into the game; they’re not quite where they need to be. We need to get (the backups) caught up.”
