Campbellsville, KY - Campbellsville University's new head football coach Perry Thomas is pleased with what he's seen so far in Spring Practice which began in early April.

"Spring practice has been very productive," said the first year head coach.  "It has given us a chance to install our basic packages and begin to develop that winning attitude.  It's also given the coaches a chance to develop a working relationship with the team and with each other," he added.

The Spring Game, which is the culmination of spring practice, will be held on Saturday, April 26th at 3:30 p.m. at HIG Field on the C.U. campus.   "We will play one half with non-running clock and there will be no kicking game," said Thomas when describing the format for the game.  "The ball will be placed on the 20-yard line and the team will go until they score or are stopped on downs," he added. 

If a team is stopped on downs, the ball will be moved 35 yards and the other team will take over.  The third quarter will be done in the same format with running clock and there will be no fourth quarter.  The team will be split into White and Maroon teams.

Thomas said that he's been most impressed with the attitudes of the players during spring practice.  "We have some good talent in certain spots and some of our first team players can compete with anyone.  Their attitudes have been very impressive and they are hungry to succeed," he added.

At the same time, Thomas noted some concerns as the fall season approaches.  "We have some positions that lack depth and a few are in need of more talented guys at this level.  We need more speed in every position and we also need to get more physical and learn how to properly respond to adversity," said Thomas.

Some of the new coach's concern with depth and speed could be answered with the new recruiting class which will arrive late this summer.  "We feel we have a great recruiting class coming in and it does address some of our concerns with depth and talent in certain spots.  We have added speed and aggressiveness with this group of signees and some of them will come in and compete as freshmen," he stated.

As for the transition the team has made between coaching staffs, and the transition of several new coaches to the players, Thomas believes it has been smooth.  "Our coaches are adapting well. It's really been an easy transition for those of us who are coming in from the high school level because of the amount of time we have for football.  We're also working with more mature individuals which makes it easier to teach concepts and deal with certain issues," said Thomas.  "The team has adapted well," he continued.  "They see that we believe in what we are doing and are very loyal to each other, the team and the program.  They are still learning our systems and learning how to work at the tempo that we expect, but they are making progress in the right direction," he concluded.

Campbellsville will open the 2008 season on August 30th by hosting Cumberland University.  The Tigers move to the Mid-South Conference Eastern Division this season.