Lion fans are set to experience the outcome from the football program’s postseason practices on Spring Game 2025.
The Spring Game is a yearly scrimmage where the University of North Alabama’s football team plays against each other to showcase their tactical evolution to the coaches and audience. This year, the game will happen on April 12.
“It’s a test as to where your team is. It’s a time to get the pads popping,” said DC Tabscott, redshirt senior quarterback from Franklin, Tenn. “It’s important because the community loves it. We love to support the community and try to see where the team’s at and have a good time.”
The football team went under significant changes with the beginning of the new year. Many graduating seniors left the turf as stars, but also opened space for a new and promising generation.
The Fall 2024 season saw Josh Anglin, Jalen Fletcher, and Fred Vili dominating the field as true freshmans while together winning seven United Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Week awards. Anglin and Fletcher were both nominees for the Jerry Rice award, and Anglin took home the UAC Freshman of the Year award.
Defensive Coordinator Coach Brock Caraboa said the program is functioning under the “next man up mentality” due to Head Coach Brent Dearmon’s administration. The mentality establishes that any player is ready and prepared to step up into a new role at any point.
“It’s not necessarily who that guy is on the field, it’s what he’s doing in that position,” Caraboa said. “[I’m] super excited about our wide receivers. They’re tough to cover, they’re fast, they’re electric. [The] Running backs are coming along and hitting the hole and doing everything the right way, and I love the way our offensive line is blocking our defense.”
The coaching staff is also fresh with Coach Morgan Cruce stepping up as the newest offensive coordinator after former Coach Kevin Wewers accepted a position at Arkansas Tech University.
“It’s exciting. I’m very blessed,” Cruce said. When Coach Dearmon told me that he was gonna give me the promotion, I was very grateful. I thoroughly enjoy working at North Alabama, working with Coach Dearmon and the staff. So just to be able to have another impact is awesome.”
Spring practices started in Mar. and have shown the coaching staff a glimpse of the 2025 season. Cruce said the semester has been focused on fundamentals of football, which is what he wants to see the players show off at the Spring Game.
And while the game shows coaches how practices pay off, it also shows the audience who the team they are supporting is.
“I want [the audience] to see that our guys play fast, that we have tempo, that we do everything in an upbeat, urgent manner,” Cruce said. “I want them to see that we are explosive, offensively.”
“As a defensive coordinator, you don’t wanna see explosive plays on offense,” Caraboa said. “But as a football coach, I wanna see explosive plays on offense, I wanna see sacks, interceptions, ball disruption on defense, and I wanna see guys make tackles. I wanna see guys get off blocks on defense, but also offensively, you wanna see guys that can establish the block and establish a run game.”
