Alcorn's offense, defense at different points of growth

LORMAN, Mississippi -- Spring practice has essentially been a tale of two sides of the ball at Alcorn State.

It's been quite the learning process for the offense, which lost an abundance of experience from last season, while the defense is attempting to uphold a standard set by former Braves coach Jay Hopson.

Last season, Alcorn State returned nearly everybody on offense, so even though it was the first year under offensive coordinator Fred Kaiss, there was still plenty of veterans on offense.

Some of those standouts, such as running back Darryan Ragsdale, tight end Jordan Payne and quarterback John Gibbs Jr.,are gone now. So the focus has been centered on filling the void.

"The goal (for spring) is establishing replacements," Kaiss said. "We have three linemen that have left, we lost a bunch of receivers, we've got new guys at new positions, but just don't know the system, don't know the position yet."

Kaiss tried to offset the loss of Ragsdale, who rushed for 1,183 yards and eight touchdowns in 2015, with the move of receiver Marquis Warford to running back.

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