HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana football team will open spring practice on Tuesday in Strawberry Stadium.
 
The spring practice session will see the Lions on the practice field on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 3:45 p.m., as well as Saturdays at 9:45 a.m. Spring drills will culminate with the annual Spring Game at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 4.
 
Southeastern is coming off an 8-5 season in 2019, which saw SLU advance to the NCAA playoffs and earn its second playoff victory in school history. Lion head coach Frank Scelfo, the reigning Southland Conference Coach of the Year, wants to see the Lions build on the positive momentum from a season ago.
 
"We want to continue to grow as a program," Scelfo commented. "We have built up our depth with our past couple of recruiting classes and we'll need some of our young players who got their first experience to step up in bigger roles. We expect to have good competition at every position this spring."
 
On offense, the Lions will have a new starting quarterback replacing 2019 All-Southland senior Chason Virgil. Cole Kelley, who finished with 10 passing and 10 rushing touchdowns in 2019, returns, as do Mason Schucker and Jordan Loving. Joining the SLU quarterback room this spring is Cephus Johnson III, who spent his first two collegiate seasons at South Alabama.
 
"We lost not just a great player, but a great leader in Chason," Scelfo said. "We're looking for our quarterback to not only fully grasp our offense, but step up as a leader for our team."
 
Kelley and the quarterback corps will have plenty of weapons to go to, as CJ Turner (78 catches, 963 yards, 7 TD), Austin Mitchell (57-896-8 TD) and Javon Conner (57-679-7 TD) all return from one of FCS' most prolific passing offenses. Taron Jones is the top returning rusher for the Lions, who also return starters Drew Jones and Rendon Miles-Character on the offensive line.
 
All-American Ferlando Jordan, who returned a school record three interceptions for touchdowns in 2019, returns in the secondary, as do fellow starters Donniel Ward-Magee and Dontrell Smith. Linebackers Alexis Ramos and Trae Drake are the top two returning tacklers from a season ago, while Josh Carr Jr. (14.5 TFL, 6.0 sacks) and Ronald Cherry III (12.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks) are the team's top returning pass rushers.
 
"We have to establish a more physical brand of defense and that starts this spring," Scelfo said. "If we can be a more physical team and continue to increase our depth, we'll consider the spring a success."
 
Southeastern opens the 2020 season on Sept. 3 at Tulane.
 
2020 Spring Practice Schedule
Tuesday, March 3 – 3:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 5 – 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, March 10 – 3:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 12 – 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, March 17 – 3:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 19 – 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, March 24 – 3:45 p.m.
Thursday, March 26 – 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, March 28 – 9:45 a.m.
Tuesday, March 31 – 3:45 p.m.
Thursday, April 2 – 3:45 p.m.
Saturday, April 4 – Spring Game – 2 p.m.
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, please contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net/tickets. The Lions' 2020 home schedule features visits from McNeese (Sept. 26), Northwestern State (Oct. 10 – Hall of Fame Game), Abilene Christian (Oct. 24 - Homecoming), Houston Baptist (Oct. 31) and Central Arkansas (Nov. 14).  
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on Twitter, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and subscribe to the SLUathletics YouTube channel.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.