Leach Sets Spring Football Dates
January 24, 2000 | Football
Jan. 24, 2000
LUBBOCK, Texas - First-year Texas Tech coach Mike Leach and his staff will get their first on-field look at the Red Raider football squad when spring drills get underway March 21. An entirely new coaching staff will put in both a new offense and a new defense over the course of 15 spring practices, culminating with the annual Red-Black Game April 15 at Jones Stadium. "Just talking about taking the field gets me excited," Leach said. "It's going to be tough waiting for another couple of months, but believe me, we can use the time. "We are going to have to make use of every minute of every day because we have a long way to go and a short time to get there," Leach said. "The previous staff did a good job, so we have a solid foundation to start building to our specifications." NCAA rules allow 15 spring practice sessions over the course of 29 consecutive calendar days. Of those 15 days, only 12 may be used for contact and only three may be devoted to 11-on-11 scrimmaging for more than 50-percent of the practice. Tackling is prohibited in four of the 12 contact sessions. Weather permitting, the Red Raiders will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the weeks involving spring drills. Saturdays will be set aside as scrimmage days. Practices are scheduled to be open.