BULLDOGS HAVE SOMETHING TO PROVE ENTERING SPRING

By Sandy Gholston

Traditional fall football is still about five months away, but preparation for that time is a process that is ongoing – a process that includes spring season.

Throughout this recent hard Michigan winter, the Ferris State University football coaches have gone through their usual out-of-season winter program – a program that includes recruiting, team evaluations and rigorous winter workouts for the players. Far from satisfied by a 6-5 record (readjusted to 7-4 as the result of a forfeit by Saginaw Valley State University) has served as motivation for these Bulldogs who have holes to fill as they aim for bigger and better things in the fall.

Junior quarterback Eric Grozenski will be one of the FSU players going through spring drills in April (Photo by Sandy Gholston)

“I think everybody is pretty excited to get back on the football field … especially the players after getting up at 5:30 in the morning and doing all of those workouts that they’ve been doing behind the scenes throughout the winter to get ready for the spring and to stay sharp,” said Ferris head football coach Jeff Pierce, who will enter his 14th season running the show for his alma mater. “The guys are excited to get back out there and playing some actual football.”

The Bulldogs have several significant holes to fill on its depth chart with the graduation of cornerstones such as quarterback C.J. Van Wieren, offensive lineman Bill Bourdlais and defensive tackle Kurt Hout – all of whom currently are working on their dreams of careers in the National Football League. Ferris must also replace key offensive threats such as receivers Robert Miller and Mike Guevara. Even while Pierce and his staff have worked to develop what Pierce calls “a strong recruiting class,” the Bulldogs also are hopeful recent recruiting classes will begin to pay dividends this spring.

In spite of the losses, Ferris has some key players returning including All-American defensive tackle Jake Visser as well as cornerback Terrell Heggins, punter Jim Yates, and linebacker Kevin Noe – all of whom earned second-team all-conference recognition. A number of players, who have not received as much playing time in recent years, like quarterback Eric Grozenski, will be among the guys eager to prove themselves with opportunities on the field this spring.

“We spend so much time in the winter doing recruiting and fundraising, but it’s nice for us as coaches to be able to get back out doing the thing we really love to do: coaching,” said Pierce, who is the all-time winningest coach at Ferris and eager to return the program back to league prominence. “I think things have been real positive with the guys, the guys have been working hard and we’ve seen great commitment from our players and from our coaches.”