Lamar faces one its toughest football schedules in school history starting in September, so this spring will be one of the Cardinals’ most important since restarting football in 2010.
Four mid-year transfers will take part in the Cards’ football drills, which begin at 7 p.m. Monday at Provost Umphrey Stadium. Among them is Port Arthur Memorial alumnus and former Texas Tech defensive back Jalen Barnes.
Three new assistant coaches will begin their on-field duties with the Cardinals, including defensive coordinator Trey Harvey, who coached Barnes at Texas Tech the past three seasons. Former Oklahoma head coach John Blake has been hired to coach the linebackers and former Texas standout and recent Prairie View A&M assistant Willie Mack Garza heading up the secondary.
Spring drills will mark the start of the opening of a serious quarterback battle among returnees Carson Earp, Blake McKenzie and Brett Cox and University of Miami transfer Clayton Turner. Earp shared the starting role with graduating master’s degree student Joe Minden this past season, while Cox saw limited action and McKenzie missed the season due to injury.
But coach Ray Woodard said Earp, who was hurt during a key stretch in the 2015 season, is of main concern in the spring.
— I.C. Murrell