‘Buzz’ around Blue Raider spring football training

The 2015 football season, the first under coach Mike Glaze, brought renewed excitement to the L.D. Bell program.

That excitement has continued into the spring as 195 players reported for spring workouts. Glaze said that is up by about 30 from last year.

“There is a buzz around the football program right now and it is an exciting time to be a Blue Raider,” Glaze said.

Quarterback has been the position Glaze and his staff have been watching the closest. Last season’s starter, Dominique Lawson, is graduating.

Lawson passed for 712 yards with five touchdowns and seven interceptions. He was also the team’s leading rusher (155 carries, 824 yards, 2 TD).

“We have a couple of guys that are fighting for that position. As a coaching staff we felt that safety was our biggest need going into spring football and developing some depth at several positions,” Glaze said.

Among the top returners for the Blue Raiders are senior defensive end Ricky Tatu, senior running back Ivan Traylor (110-443, 1 TD), senior running back Terry Pace (110-398), senior defensive tackle Eric Herron, senior defensive end Keroles Dawed, defensive tackle/nose guard Vita Ahio and senior tackle Donovan Gladden.

Glaze also noted that some players will be moving up from the junior varsity who could make an impact. They include junior rover Vita Tonga, senior tackle/guard Jeremy Carlson, junior tight end Austin Kirksey, junior center Joseph Torres and junior defensive end Michael Dyson.

The Blue Raiders junior varsity went 5-5 last season.

“The next step is learning how to compete and learning how to win,” Glaze said. “We spent most of our offseason and part of spring ball just making everything a competition.”

Come the fall, the Blue Raiders will be competing in a new district, 5-6A. Glaze said there could also be a couple of new coaches.

The new district will also include Bell rival Euless Trinity, Lewisville, Flower Mound, Lewisville Hebron, Flower Mound Marcus, Northwest Nelson and Southlake Carroll. In 2015, Carroll and Marcus advanced to the second round of the playoffs, while Trinity, Hebron and Nelson advanced to bi-district.

“Any time you get put into a new district, I believe there is excitement of the unknown,” Glaze said. “Some of the teams we will play will be new and different, and not knowing exactly what to expect brings some feeling of excitement.

“Traveling to different schools, playing in new stadiums, new faces and seeing new traditions will be exciting.”

In the meantime, spring drills wrapped up late last week with the spring games. During the summer, Glaze said players will be competing in a pair of 7-on-7 state qualifying tournaments, a 7-on-7 league, and a few lineman challenges.

“And, of course, we will be grinding in our Summer Dedication strength and conditioning camp,” Glaze said.

“It has been a great spring, and I have seen so much growth in our program this past year. I can’t wait to see the product we will put on the field this fall.”

This story was originally published May 23, 2016 at 11:18 AM with the headline "‘Buzz’ around Blue Raider spring football training."