DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team strapped on the helmets for the first time in 2016 as the Bulldogs began spring practice on Tuesday at Drake Stadium.
Drake is set to have 13 more practices throughout the next month leading up to the annual Blue-White Spring Game on April 23.

Drake head coach Rick Fox and his staff enter their third season together and are excited about the group of guys they have and will be welcoming in the fall.

"We've got 77 guys who are with their best buddies having a blast playing the game that they love. There was a ton of energy and a lot of fast tempo on both sides of the ball. Our guys were getting after it today," Fox said.

The Bulldogs return a strong core of players and are looking to learn from their 5-6 record a season ago. One of the biggest holes the offense needs to file is the quarterback position after losing three-year starter Andy Rice.

"We got a competition going on in our quarterbacks group and those guys came out and executed like veteran quarterbacks. I am really pleased to see that today," Fox said.

The Bulldogs return to the field on Thursday afternoon to complete their first week of spring practices.

"The focus right now is to shake off the dust off and getting back into it. I was really please on how sharp we were, considering the last time we were out here on this field was November 21^st when we beat Dayton. We have a lot of stuff to work on but our guys are focused and excited about it," Fox said.