After a good first spring practice it looks like the novelty wore off of hitting the practice field for the players on the second spring practice. Colorado St. Rams head coach Jim McElwain was not happy with the performance the players brought:
"They have to understand that it is every day," said McElwain. "It just doesn't happen every once in awhile. But again, it is changing a culture and changing an attitude and changing a mindset. The guys that understand the mindset and understand what it means to be a Ram will be the ones playing next fall."
"You have to have some personal pride in yourself to be a relentless competitor and right now they don't have it," McElwain added. "It is a simple lack of focus, attention to detail and accountability."
The fast pace of the practice remained the same as the first workout, but the lack of execution was where the team fell short. There were just too many mistakes made that were not up to the new coaching staff's standards.
One other quote that should hit home for the players is when McElwain says the team does not know what it is like to be a winner:
"Our guys just don't quite understand what it is to be a champion on a daily basis. They don't understand how to practice yet, they don't understand how to finish and I was really disappointed. We had a lot of alignment errors, just things that bad teams do. I am really upset."
Colorado State hits the practice field for their third practice on Monday, and McElwain mentioned that is when we'll really be able to get a good evaluation on his team.
For more on CSU football, visit MWC blog Mountain West Connection and SB Nation Denver.
