Chadwell, Bucs open spring practice on Thursday - WCIV-TV | ABC News 4 - Charleston News, Sports, Weather

Chadwell, Bucs open spring practice on Thursday

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern will open spring practice Thursday and for the first time in a decade, the Buccaneers will have a new head coach roaming the sidelines. Jamey Chadwell and the Bucs hit the field at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon.

CSU will have two no-contact practices before donning full pads and the hitting begins next week. The Bucs will scrimmage for the first time in the spring next Thursday (March 28). The spring game is scheduled for April 13th at 11 a.m. at Buccaneer Field.

Chadwell is in his first spring at a new school for the third time in his career. He knows what to expect, as well as what needs to be accomplished over the next three weeks.

"The first thing we have to do is establish our identity," Chadwell said earlier this week. "We need to become who we want to be in all three phases of the game. We want to be a physical team and want to play fast. We need to establish that identity, and, most importantly, we need to get to know our players. Find out what they do well and don't do well."

In addition to seeing his team up close and for the first time, Chadwell is also breaking in a new staff. One thing that will work in Bucs' favor is the familiarity the staff has with Chadwell and each other.

"I've got experience, as a coach or player, with all of them except two," Chadwell said. "We need to have good continuity. The way we communicate with each other and the energy and passion that comes out of our coaches will bleed down into our team."

Chadwell will have the Bucs working on the basics the first few days, before buckling their chin straps and going to full contact for the first time since the season ended in November.

"We will be heavy on fundament first two days," Chadwell said. "We'll put in our base stuff and then we'll start developing it. You can only do as much as your team is capable of learning. We have to be confident in our base stuff and execute it at a high level. We also want our guys to develop mental toughness this spring so we're ready to hand adversity in the fall."

Charleston Southern was 5-6 in 2012 and 3-3 in Big South play. The Bucs open their 2013 season on August 31 at The Citadel.