DELAND — As another spring came to a close, the dozens of Stetson football players let out a massive roar inside the locker room. The work, for now, is done.
The real test, though, is still several months away.
With a significant overhaul among the coaching staff, Stetson will look to improve off a 2-9 campaign. Head coach Roger Hughes believes his team has the hunger to finally get over the hump.
"The attitude, the culture, the care for each other, it's very evident. I've had people come to practice and say something's different," Hughes said.
"We really felt like we were in this position last year, and then look what happened — our season got off track real quick. But these guys fought their asses off the last six games. … I don't think there is one player in that locker room who feels we went 2-9."
The Hatters will get back to work with conditioning in the summer before the start of fall camp. For now, here are three takeaways from Stetson's spring showcase.
McGovern is 'clear' No. 1
Though the Hatters have several signal-callers with starting experience, Colin McGovern exits the spring entrenched as the first-team option.
"Coming out, Colin, I think, is the clear first (stringer)," Hughes said. "He's been the most consistent quarterback in spring practice."
McGovern completed 10 of 19 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown, a 4-yard strike to Luke McDermott. He added 53 yards on the ground.
His two biggest pass plays, both longer than 30 yards, went to University grad Tony Gilotti, filling in for Donald Parham.
"Today, it was a pretty slow start. But once we got that first touchdown, the floodgates opened a little bit and we started playing a little smoother," McGovern said. "Some of the basics of our offense are still the same. But we're working on little things like tempo. We're trying to play faster, simpler and dictate to the defense what we are doing."
Gaven DeFilippo, who missed the entire 2017 season due to knee and shoulder injuries, connected on 10 of 20 attempts for 105 yards, more than half of which came on a 53-yard touchdown to Justin Jordan.
Ground control
Hughes and new offensive coordinator Stan Clayton emphasized a commitment to improving a running game which ranked last in the Pioneer Football League. The early results, including a seemingly higher volume of quarterback keepers, looked promising.
Bryce Blackmon broke off a 24-yard rush on the first play from scrimmage. Twin brother Chase Blackmon plugged away for 22 yards on the ground.
"The Blackmon twins have really come on, and they're much more comfortable in what they are doing," Hughes said.
Overall, the first unit saw about 45 snaps, Hughes said. Matt Taft added a 2-yard touchdown plunge, and Arkee Brown turned in a strong second half, carrying the ball nine times for 81 yards and the final touchdown.
Depth at linebacker
Even though leading tackler Jeb Boudreaux is gone, Hughes feels the Hatters have depth and quality at the linebacker position.
Dylan Galm notched a team-high five tackles, while redshirt junior Colby Duncan added four tackles and one of the Hatters' six credited sacks. Hughes also believes the return of Jamieson Craske from injury and the emergence of Tyler Mirabella in the middle will help solidify the group.
"We're getting the young guys acclimated since we had a lot of seniors leave last year," Duncan said. "We're coming along, and we'll get it figured out."