University of Northern Colorado Athletics
Bears Football opens anticipated spring practices
3/27/2012 12:00:00 AM | Football
Northern Colorado Football 2012 spring roster 
| 2012 spring schedule | 2012 Letterman's Weekend brochure
By SCOTT WARD
UNCBears.com
GREELEY -- Northern Colorado Football began its second spring practice under head coach Earnest Collins Jr. on Monday with a two-hour wind-blown session on Butler-Hancock Practice Fields.
The Bears got to work in early preparation for their 2012 season and officially welcomed six mid-year signees in Tyler Dogins (Bakersfield College), Isiah Jones (Fullerton College), Mykel Morse (Scottsdale Community College), Tyler Olker (College of DuPage), Dominick Sierra (Cerritos College) and Leilon Willingham (Central Florida).
Collins also got to see in action two new additions to his coaching staff in co-defensive line coach Jon Carpenter (Notre Dame) and offensive line coach Chris Smith (University at Buffalo).
"It was great to get out here and start looking ahead," Collins said. "As soon as last season ended we took it upon ourselves to just get better, in all facets. We need to be better on defense. We need to be better on offense – we need to be a lot better at running the ball. We need to improve our special teams.
"We just need to get better. That didn't start today – we've been getting better every day, one day at a time – but this was our first chance in awhile to see the guys in this setting. It was good."
Northern Colorado will return in 2012 seven players who were key contributors on offense and four players who spent a lot of time on the field on the defensive side of the ball.
Offensively, Chris Anderson (OL), Rick Aversano (OL), Nick Candler (OT), Dominic Gunn (WR), Quintin Hildreth (RB), Seth Lobato (QB) and Doug Steele (TE) all got reps Monday during the first spring session, and they will all be looked upon for leadership in the coming weeks and into August's fall camp.
Clarence Bumpas (LB), Devontae Chapple (DE), Cameron Friend (LB) and Marcel Gibbons (S) will be expected to do the same for Northern Colorado's defense.
It's some of the new guys, though, like Willingham, that Collins said he's excited to see in his system. Willingham was a top-rated recruit out of Denver's J.K Mullen High, and he played collegiately last season at Central Florida in Orlando.
The "fit" wasn't quite right there, so he decided to come back to Colorado and join Collins in Greeley. Those two forged a relationship early on in Collins' tenure with the Bears, and Collins counts himself lucky to have a player of his ilk on the Bears roster and getting to know the playbook this far in advance of their 2012 opener.
"Whatever that first day of recruiting was when I first got here, in 2011, my first school recruiting when I got here was Mullen," Collins said. "At that point in time, [Northern Colorado is] not on those guys' radar—they're four- and five-star kids. I love when the high-school coaches give me access to players, because then I can get in front of the players and say, 'Look, man. I know you're FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision), and you can go wherever you want to go, but, if it doesn't work out you've got a home at UNC.
"So, I went to see [Willingham] on the first day of recruiting in 2011, and then, after he came home, I went and saw him again on the first day of recruiting in 2012, and this time I got him to come to UNC. And now, getting him out there in the spring is one of the biggest benefits of him transferring mid-year. He can learn and make mistakes and not have the pressure of a game right around the corner.
"He's just got that demeanor and that attitude you look for in the linebacker spot. A lot of guys who are here, and the guys who will come in this fall, can learn from him; just learn the approach you need to have at the linebacker position."
Northern Colorado's 2012 'Battle of the Bears' Blue & Gold Spring Game is scheduled for noon, Saturday, April 21, at Nottingham Field. The game will be open the public and is a part of a busy day for Northern Colorado Athletics, as the third-annual Women's Walk will be held in the morning and Bears Baseball and Softball will take their respective fields in the afternoon.
For breaking news and other updates on Northern Colorado Football and Athletics, follow the Bears on Twitter @uncofootball and @unc_bears.
2012 Northern Colorado Football Spring Schedule
| March 26 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| March 28 | Practice |
3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| March 30 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| March 31 | Practice | 10 a.m. - noon |
| April 2 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 4 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 6 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 7 | Practice | 10 a.m. - noon |
| April 9 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 11 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 13 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 14 | Practice | 2 - 4 p.m. |
| April 16 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 18 | Practice | 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. |
| April 19 | Coaches vs. Players softball game | 5 p.m. |
| April 20 | Friends and Family golf outing | Noon |
| April 21 | Captains Breakfast (not open to public) | 8 a.m. |
| April 21 | "Battle of the Bears' Blue & Gold Spring Game | Noon |
| April 22 | Spring BBQ | 1:30 p.m. |
