UNI football eager to get back to work

CEDAR FALLS — If Northern Iowa football fans were at all curious if the Panthers would respond well to the FCS Playoff quarterfinal loss to North Dakota State, consider this: on the first day of spring football practice at the UNI-Dome on Wednesday, the only players who weren't out on the field 15 to 20 minutes early for the 3 p.m. practice had class until 2:50 p.m.

Asked and answered.

There's a sense of urgency and profound eagerness from this year's group to get back to work. As close as they felt they came to a title and with what the 2016 schedule looks like, there's no time to waste.

Like head coach Mark Farley said, it's time to get to work.

'We don't have time. Whether it takes time or not, we don't have time,' Farley said. 'We play Montana, Iowa State and Eastern Washington coming out of the gate. We don't have time. That's the sense of urgency they need to have on the first practice of the spring. This practice is just as important as the one that's going to happen on August 3.

'We're going to make mistakes today, but we can't make those mistakes on August 3. We need to start at a high level. Somebody better rise to the top. We'll quickly find out who can play this spring.'

If body language was any indication, the way the Panthers carried themselves as they prepared for their first organized practice of 2016 showed a large amount of confidence.

UNI finished 2015 with a 9-5 record, but it was that loss to the Bison in the quarterfinal game at the FargoDome that gives so many of the returning players a boost. Not that they need any more motivation than winning in general, but everyone left from that team felt like if they had done just a few things differently, the Panthers very well could have been the team holding the national championship trophy at the end of the season.

Despite what UNI lost in Deiondre Hall, Makinton Dorleant, Tim Kilfoy, Brett McMakin and others, the Panthers return plenty of talent — and plenty of guys who had a big hand in getting to the FCS quarters. The Panthers start spring practice as healthy as they've been in a long time. Only linebacker Jared Farley will miss spring practice after offseason ankle surgery, and offensive lineman Cal Twait and running back Michael Malloy were a full go after serious knee injuries ended their seasons.

Knowing all that, and knowing they'll have a head start on offense for once, Farley liked the attitude he saw from his guys as they went through their first practice of spring.

'I think what's noticeable in comparison to maybe other winters is the confidence — the quiet confidence. There's nobody talking about things out here,' Farley said. 'There's just guys putting in work to get it done. When you look at things the guys in the classroom, weight room, in their morning lifts did — they're all 15 minutes early today, but they were 15 minutes early to a lot of things because they know there's got to be work done first before you reap the rewards.'

Like Farley said, confidence isn't all that's required.

Senior-to-be Karter Schult gave a knowing smile when he was asked about the sense of urgency among the players. Everyone wants to be on the field, sure. But Schult said it'll take time for some to understand how efficient they all have to be with their time.

There's a lot of improvement needed in a short time frame for guys stepping into much bigger roles than they might have anticipated.

'Everyone was excited to get back on this turf. We've got a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball, but I think everybody is really eager,' Schult said. 'We wanted to get back on this turf as soon as possible, but we also know we've got a lot of young guys that need to step up this year. Part of the maturing process is in the weight room too, and we knew every single day was going to be important — not just this month of practices.

'I think they're definitely going to find out. The veteran guys know the urgency is high because we lost a great group of seniors. Some of the younger guys might not know yet, but they will within the week. It's going to hit hard, but it'll be exciting.'

UNI will practice for a month for spring ball. The annual Spring Game is set for April 29, with an exact start time still to be determined.

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