Now that the snow is gone and the sun is perched high, it is time for Broadway and his staff to begin to correct those things. The Aggies have started Spring Practice 2015 with 76 players looking to be finely tuned when the Aggies start the season against Shaw University on Sept. 5 at Aggie Stadium.
A&T’s annual Blue & Gold Spring Game is noon Saturday, April 18 at Aggie Stadium. Gates open at 11 a.m. The Aggies will practice Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until the Spring Game.
“We have so much room for improvement,” said Broadway just prior to the start of spring. “We need to focus on fundamentals and techniques. And this is a little embarrassing to say, especially four years into the program, but we need to work on effort.”
In four years at A&T, Broadway is 28-17. He has won at least one conference title in all three leagues he has coached – CIAA, SWAC, MEAC – after the Aggies were crowned co-champions of the MEAC this past fall. Broadway is also only four wins shy of his 100th career coaching victory.
He is the owner of four conference titles in his career, but he believes the Aggies have potential for more. In an effort to lead the Aggies to back-to-back titles, Broadway wants to see more explosiveness from his offense. Running back and co-MEAC Offensive Player of the Year Tarik Cohen and wide receivers Denzel Keyes, Xavier Griffin, Darren Bullock, Caleb Gabriel and Khris Gardin are just some of the weapons Broadway has at his disposal. He hopes to use the spring to experiment with ways of getting the ball in their hands.
“We're going to try to be a little more explosive, try to create some mismatches against people, try to put the defense in bad positions, get the ball in the hands of playmakers who are in a position where they can make plays,” said Broadway.
The Aggies will have holes to fill and positions to compete for with the graduation of All-American offensive linemen Ronald Canty and William Ray Robinson III. Defensively, the Aggies lose one of the best tacklers in school history in linebacker D’Vonte Grant along with All-American cornerback Donald Mattocks and defensive end Daniel Pinnix. But defensively the Aggies have three-fourths of their defensive line back, top tackler and rover Landis Shoffner is back and kick returner/cornerback Tony McRae is also scheduled to return.
“We've got to be a little more physical football team than we have been,” said Broadway. “We've had a chance to dominate and put some licks on people, and I don't think we do enough.”
COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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