VMI eager to get spring football drills under way

VMI will commence spring football drills Thursday, April 7 with a workout at Fiorini Field that will begin a busy week for the team under second-year head coach Scott Wachenheim.

The Keydets will conduct practices over three straight days this week (Thursday, Friday, Saturday) before settling into a regular practice schedule the next three weeks that ends on April 30.

Seventy-three players are expected to participate during the workouts which also include scrimmages slated for April 16, April 23, and April 30.

VMI returns 17 starters from last year’s team on both side of the ball. On offense, rising redshirt junior quarterback Al Cobb, who led the Southern Conference in passing yardage with 2,736 yards including 14 touchdowns returns with senior wide receiver Aaron Sanders who caught a Southern Conference high 84 passes. On defense, the inside linebackers duo of Allan Cratsenberg and Ryan Francis, who ranked fourth and third, respectively in the Southern Conference in tackles per game, return to anchor the unit.

Wachenheim and staff will be focusing on key things as the Keydets work through spring drills. “We need to improve in several areas. Number 1 is we got to take care of the ball a little better and take it away a little bit better. We played a lot closer games and were competitive last year, now we have to take the next step and win the close game.”

VMI opens the 2016 season Sept. 3 at Akron.