Submitted B-CU ATHLETICS
(Source Daytona Times):
The Bethune-Cookman University Wildcats football team wrapped up the second spring of the Raymond Woodie Jr. era on Saturday, April 20 with the annual spring game at Daytona Stadium. B-CU fans were able to catch a first glimpse of Woodie’s first full signing class as head coach.
Defense led the way as B-CU’s modified scoring system saw the B-CU defense (Gold) defeat the Wildcat offense (Maroon) 68-38 over the course of seven drills including two-minute drills, four-minute drills, goal-line, backed up drives, redzone, and others.
Following the game, Woodie gave his thoughts regarding everything spring football to B-CU staff and members of the media.
On overall thoughts on spring practice
I’m really excited and honored to coach this football team. We’ve got over 60 new players going into the fall. To see them grow over the course of the spring is a great thing. I wanted to come out of spring and see if we could begin to develop a two deep, and we felt like some of the things that we saw today solidified some things for us.
On turning last year’s one-possession losses into wins in 2024
We’ve been practicing about 10 to 15 different situations in order to get these guys used to situations like that. It’s important for us to look at the 11 guys we have on the field and be able to trust them into next season. We’re not taking away anything from our defense, but our defense is making our offense better. It’s all about techniques and fundamentals, attention to detail and coordination of the play.
On molding the team heading into the fall
For us right now, the most important thing is finishing strong in the classroom. This may end up being one of the program’s best semesters in the classroom. When you get that work ethic, that’s going to get you to the technique, fundamentals, and attention to detail we need on the field. We want a player-led team – we want it to be our players who are encouraging our guys to get an extra rep in the weight room, extra reps on the field, and to work together. It’s not going to be long before we’re back out on the field. We’ve got to make a big jump.
On parity in the SWAC
We have to worry about B-CU. We need to look at the portal and understand what it is we need. We’ve signed a lot of high school guys. We have a couple of holes we’ll need to fill. If we can continue to improve on all the little things like technique and fundamentals, it’s going to be interesting.
On the running game
You have to be able to run the ball. If you want to pass the ball, the run will open things up. We have to be able to take time off the clock, and in certain situations, we’ll have to be tempo team. We want to be good at running the football first.
On the transfer portal
It’s going to be a positive for us. We do a thorough investigation of everyone. Some guys that may pass the eye test may not be a good fit for us, especially when we find all the baggage that comes along with certain players. We want to get guys that want to be here and can help our culture. We’re not going to deviate from that. We need the right fit. We don’t want to get too many guys from the portal, we want to build it the right way starting with the high school guys and filling in holes through the portal.
On team competition heading into the fall
We just have to keep guys healthy. Overall, our guys have been competitively working hard and pushing each other. If we are able to have depth and push each other, our level of expectations is going to be very high. Last year, we lacked a bit of that competition that maybe forced some of our guys to remain stagnant,
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