BOONE, N.C. — Old habits can be hard to break.
After the first team meeting of the spring ended and players dispersed for their position meetings, first-year head coach
Shawn Clark went to a familiar spot.
"I went to the offensive line room on accident," Clark said with a laugh.
A long-time position coach, Clark was hired to lead the football program at his alma mater a week before the Mountaineers capped a record-breaking 2019 season with a victory in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.
Since the calendar flipped to 2020, Clark has been assembling a complete coaching staff and preparing for spring practice, which officially began Tuesday afternoon.
"Spring football is my favorite time of the year," Clark said Tuesday during a pre-practice press conference. "You're not game-planning week to week for an opponent. You get a chance to really get around your players and know your guys. It's really good for our new coaches to come in and spend time with those guys, not just with football, but also outside of football."
App State returns eight of its primary offensive starters, five of its primary defensive starters and every primary specialist aside from the leading kick returner from a 13-1 team that finished No. 18 in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the AP Top 25.
All told, there are 12 returning offensive players and 13 returning defensive players who started at least one game in 2019, plus four scholarship players who spent time at running back last season and combined for 1,217 rushing yards while averaging 6.1 yards per carry.
In terms of individual personnel, as those players continue to recover from 2019 injuries or ailments, Clark said defensive back
Tre Caldwell, defensive end
Tommy Dawkins, defensive lineman
Greg Johnston, running back
Camerun Peoples, receiver
Michael Queen, receiver
Dysaun Razzak, receiver
Corey Sutton and defensive end
Chris Willis will not participate in spring workouts.
With more than 20 seniors on the 2020 roster, that class is about twice as big as the senior classes from 2019 and 2018. That's why building depth is one of Clark's biggest goals for this spring.
"We have to build depth," he said. "We're a very senior-heavy team this year. We know that. This spring is all about developing depth and our young guys."
Clark shared several other goals, notably helping the players improve their technique and making sure they learn to execute App State's system.
"And it's our system," Clark said.
App State is again among the FBS teams with the earliest start dates for spring practice, with more time to recover from injuries serving as one advantage.
Clark now has to make more decisions as a head coach and delegate the appropriate things to members of his staff.
Roughly two months into his new job, has it been everything he hoped it would be?
Clark acknowledged that it has.
"And more," he added with a smile.
