By Brice Cherry

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Whether you’re an old dog or a new pup, you can’t wait to get out and shake things loose after having been penned up all summer.

Such was the case for veteran Waco High coach Johnny Tusa and rookie University coach Matt Carroll Monday as their teams hit the practice field for the first time.

Per UIL rules, Monday marked the first day of football practice for Class 4A and 5A schools that held spring practice, and both Tusa and Carroll spoke of being excited about getting back to some real gridiron work.

Even if they’re going about it at different rates.

Carroll, who took over the University job in February following LeRoy Coleman’s quarter-century run on the Trojans’ sideline, believes his program has no time to lose. University last made the playoffs in 2004, and has won only five games over the three seasons since.

Asked what he wants to see out of his players in the first few practices, Carroll said, “Tempo. A new attitude, the attitude we’ve been working on all year long. We look for that kind of tempo out of those guys, to see them hustle around.”

Carroll, 35, had his Trojans on the field at 8 a.m., about two hours before the crosstown Waco High Lions strode out of their locker room. Though as competitive as ever, Tusa takes a more laid-back approach to the kickoff of fall drills, preferring to ease into a steady pace rather than hit the ground running at full speed.

“I’ve learned over the years that you don’t try to take that first day as serious as you do the third or fourth day,” said Tusa, who will be starting his 23rd season coaching the Lions. “I used to jump through hoops the first day and get all over everybody about their effort and everything else. But (it helps) to let them go automatic pilot for a couple of days, let them get their feet back on the ground. You’ve got a lot of guys who have been at Granny’s, been at the mall, and this is not the pace they’ve been operating at.”

High expectations for Lions

That said, the Lions’ expectations are as high as ever. It hasn’t been hung on the wall yet, but resting on the floor in the fieldhouse is a sign that lists the team’s goals for 2008 — win the Kickoff Classic, win the city championship, win the district championship and win the state championship.

It’s a sign that is nearly identical to those that hung in the building in both 2006 and ‘07, save for the date.

“You really can’t (change expectations),” Tusa said. “If you’ve been to the mountaintop, then what are you going to do? By and large, there are levels to this, and you’ve got to achieve one goal to get to the other. It’s a pretty simple formula that we’ve taken a liking to, and have been able to participate in, so that makes it more real.”

Indeed, Tusa’s Lions are only two years removed from a trip to the 4A Division II state final. Last year, Waco High repeated as District 16-4A champions and rolled through the regular season with a 9-1 record, only to lose to Ennis, 37-34, in a four-overtime heartbreaker in bi-district play.

“You never know what your hangover effect or what your fire-lighting effect of a game like that is,” Tusa said. “We’ve looked back on that game a couple of times. We fumbled the ball in the regular game with something like 40 seconds left, inside the 30-yard-line, that would have given us an opportunity to win the game. ... So you don’t want to just put it all on four overtimes, last second or whatever. It’s an unfortunate chain of events, but at the same token, that chain is usually linked well before that time.”

Waco High has several key players returning, most notably defensive end Andrew Weaver and running backs Bronshae’Keon Dugas, Charles Silmon and Toylon Clark. But Tusa said there are several fierce position battles still ongoing, including at nose guard, safety and on the offensive line.

Carroll’s cupboard not bare

At University, Coleman didn’t leave the cupboard bare for Carroll, as the Trojans return eight offensive starters, including junior quarterback Randy Price, who is entering his third year as starter.

“We went through the 2-8 thing last year, but it was with a young group of kids,” Carroll said. “We’re going to have a good chunk of kids coming back on both sides of the ball, an experienced offensive line that has a season underneath them. And our skill players are phenomenal.”

Both Waco High and University will practice in shorts and T-shirts until Friday, when contact drills are allowed. University will scrimmage Dallas Lincoln on Aug. 23 before opening its season at home in the H-E-B Heart of Texas Kickoff Classic against Houston Crosby on Aug. 30.

Waco High will scrimmage Ellison on Aug. 21, then will open up the regular season in the Kickoff Classic Aug. 29 against San Marcos.

Staff writer Jason Orts contributed to this story.

bcherry@wacotrib.com

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