Matt Demicoli didn’t just figure it out — he figured it out quickly.
The Emporia State linebacker only needed a few minutes to realize that this year’s new coaching staff was going to put a little more pressure on him at spring practices.
“I think it was during the first meeting we had with the coaches. When they addressed us, they were intense already just at our meeting,” Demicoli said. “They were telling us, ‘You’re going to have to pick it up a lot. It’s going to be a lot different this year. It’s going to be a lot more tough.’”
Welcome to Year One of spring football during the Garin Higgins campaign.
Full speed. Full contact. Full of yelling.
And also what Higgins hopes is the foundation of accountability and effort that will make the Hornets into better players and individuals.
“I just want our guys to understand we’re going to do the little things right,” Higgins said. “We’re not going to accept not finishing a play. If our hand is supposed to be behind the line, it’s going to be behind the line. If everybody’s supposed to clap during a stretch, everybody’s going to clap...
“I’m not going to say we’re going to win games because of that, but I’ll tell you what, in the long run, I think they’ll understand discipline and self-discipline.”
In many ways, the workouts have resembled ESU practices of the past when coach Larry Kramer was running them in the 80s and 90s.
If a mistake is made, push-ups and up-downs are the punishment. Sometimes players are sent to run to a goalpost and back.
Higgins hasn’t just coached the style — he’s also played under it. He was a quarterback at ESU from 1987-90.
“Those guys have not done any more up-downs than I have done on that practice field. I guarantee you,” Higgins said. “They probably won’t ever do as many up-downs as I did when I played here.
“It’s an attention-getter. I want them to maintain focus throughout practice.”
Higgins hasn’t wasted time putting his basic schemes in place. The offense is already running his no-huddle offense in practice, simulating real-game scenarios with coaches using headsets and also motioning in plays using hand signals from the sideline.
The scheme is similar to that run by Oklahoma State, where the offense sets then turns to the sideline to receive the play call from coaches.
“I love it that they’re already getting ready for game situations,” ESU offensive lineman Matt Ferris said. “You never can be too early. You can always get ready for the season coming up.”
The spring practices have been shorter but only because Higgins wants them full of energy. Players run between drills and are also instructed to go all out on every play.
“It’s intense,” Demicoli said. “Every drill you do, everything you do on the practice fields, even when you’re in the locker room or you’re at meetings, it’s intense. It’s just getting us ready for those game-type situations. When we get to the games, we won’t be surprised by anything.”
Higgins also has taken on a different persona once stepping onto the practice field, with his voice becoming a little more rough and ragged.
“It’s definitely a little bit more scratchy, a little bit more fierce, I guess you could say,” Ferris said. “If he needs to get into you, he’ll get into you.”
It’s all part of the old-school ways Higgins learned partly from Kramer and also from his father, who coached him in high school.
“He gets fired up when he crosses the chalk,” Demicoli said. “You know when you get on the chalk, it’s time to work. If you don’t, he’s going to be on your (butt).”
One of Higgins’ goals with all his teams has been to get relentless effort. For him, this means he is able to turn the film on after practice and not see a change in speed at any point.
The coach said he was happy with the work he had seen from his players so far.
“Sometimes, in spring football, they might go the wrong way,” Higgins said, “but I tell you what, they’re going at a fast pace. That’s what we want.”