Valpo Football Set to Commence Spring Season

Thursday, March 17, 2022

For the first time in Landon Fox’s three-year tenure as the head football coach at Valparaiso University, the program is set to experience a traditional spring season.

During the 2019 spring, Fox had just been hired to lead the program. The 2020 spring season never occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 spring was the most unusual yet as the team played a six-game schedule since the 2020 fall slate was pushed back due to the pandemic.

Now, Valpo football is set to finally experience a normal spring practice schedule, and with that comes the opportunity to get better on a practice-by-practice basis. The first of 14 practices will be held on Sunday, March 20 leading into the annual Spring Game on Sunday, April 24.

“This is the first time as a head coach that I’ve had the chance to look at an old practice plan and say, ‘Is this any good?’” Fox said. “This is the first time we’ve been able to duplicate and tweak what we did during the fall prior to a spring season. This is one of the fun parts of being a head coach — reviewing what went well and what we can improve during the time between the fall and the spring. It’s crazy to think this is the first time we’ve been able to do that in my three years as head coach.”

The program has plenty to build on going forward as Valpo finished with a Pioneer Football League record of .500 or better in each of the last two seasons for the first time since 1999 and 2000. The Beacons won four PFL games in each of the last two seasons, a number they had reached just once prior to Fox’s arrival. The 2021 calendar year was highlighted by a 3-0 record against rival Butler, including a 47-3 blitzing of the Bulldogs during the fall that represented a program record for margin of victory against a Division-I opponent.

However, for players and coaches alike, this spring is less about what the program has achieved in recent years and more about setting the stage for future successes.

“One thing that we have communicated with our players is that going into this spring, there is no depth chart,” Fox said. “Everyone is going to get equal opportunities and we want them to give their very best. Then we can start to build a depth chart as we approach fall camp. For the players who are on campus, this represents a great opportunity to establish themselves.”

Although the calendar year 2021 marked a large step forward for the program, the team and staff are far from satisfied.

“From a team perspective, we’ve got to execute at a higher level going forward,” Fox said. “We want to do a better job with execution, fundamentals and techniques in all phases of the game. As we went back and reviewed the season, we recognized that our execution wasn’t consistent enough. We’re thrilled with the opportunity that we have in front of us to get better with each practice this spring.”

The spring will mark the debut of a new-look offensive coaching staff, led by offensive coordinator Will Fleming.

“As we evaluate our players on both sides of the ball this spring, we’ll be identifying who is the most consistent,” Fox said. “Everyone will have an opportunity to prove themselves regardless of how much playing time they’ve received in the past. The spring is also important for building depth. We can’t wait to get started and have a chance to grow as a group during the spring.”

2022 SPRING FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

March 20 - Practice #1

March 27 - Practice #2

April 1 - Practice #3

April 2 - Practice #4

April 5 - Practice #5

April 7 - Practice #6

April 9 - Practice #7

April 11 - Practice #8

April 12 - Practice #9

April 14 - Practice #10

April 18 - Practice #11