LEXINGTON, Va. – In spring practice #11, new VMI head coach Danny Rocco is feeling good about his team’s strides.
“Since coming back from the Christmas break, we made a ton of progress physically in the weight room. Ellis Spratlin did a great job in the winter cycle and we were sitting here today at practice number 11 in spring, and you’d like to be further along, but I think we are where we need to be.”
The progress in the off-season has now translated to spring ball where Rocco’s office of install is filled with versatility.
“I think it’s a combination of just some of the different formations and stuff,” quarterback Collin Ironside said. “We’re doing the different styles of offenses and different tempos we’re going with, I think that’s going to be tough for defenses to prepare for when they see all these different things on film, they go which ones are they going to do against us?”
In this day and age, when a new coach comes in, we often see some players hit the transfer portal. However, a lot of them don’t usually stay at the school they were intending on leaving. It’s a different story for Evan Eller, who said Coach Rocco was extremely patient during his decision-making, and he’s looking forward to returning and playing for a defensive-minded head coach.
“He talked to me about how he was a defensive mind and how he was a linebacker coach at all these different big-time programs and just kind of being able to like pick his mind,” linebacker Eller said. “Being able to be a key part and one of his defenses, and I know his defenses in the past have been successful, he’s kind of notorious for how successful they’ve been and how well they played. So being able to continue my role here, and be a key part of the defense and captain of the team, that kind of played a big part [in staying].”
“As you’re putting in a defense, that’s multiple, and he’s smart, he’s instinctive, so you put in a defense that’s multiple, he has different roles and you create depth that way.”
A few more spring practices left for the Keydets before they hit summer workouts and prepare for the fall. They open the season by hosting Davidson.