Football
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Spring has officially arrived for the Western Michigan football team as the Broncos held their first practice of the spring schedule Monday morning. It was the first of 15 practice dates during this portion of the season.
“The first day of spring ball 2022 was exactly what I thought it was going to be,” said head coach Tim Lester. “It was nice to be out here in helmets. The biggest thing is having discipline and keeping people off the ground, and I thought that was the most disciplined practice we have had this early in a long time.”
“I thought our defense did an unbelievable job keeping people off the ground today,” said Lester. “Offensively we have a lot of new stuff, so it was a little bit ugly as we expected it to be, but there were a lot of good things. It’s exciting. It’s the very beginning of a long process. A lot of competition everywhere especially on offense. The defense added a few wrinkles, but we have a lot of names with a ton of experience. It was a good first day and we’re healthy.”
A defensive leader, senior linebacker Corvin Moment is among many key defensive returners for the Broncos. Last season, he tied for the team lead in tackles (68) alongside fellow returning linebacker Zaire Barnes, and finished with 3.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.
“I would say Corvin is one of the strongest leaders I’ve ever been around,” said Lester. “He’s one of those guys that literally has the ear of everyone on the team. He could walk into the o-line room and say something and everyone respects him because he plays so physical and continues to get better…I can’t wait to see what he does in his final year.”
Moment was named to the 2021 All-MAC Third Team, and had a career day on Homecoming last season in a blowout victory over Kent State, totaling nine tackles, 3.5 for a loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.
“We have some good depth and some really good guys returning,” said Moment. “In terms of leadership, I try to say whatever I naturally feel and not force anything. The most important thing I feel is for guys to see me working hard and doing everything right, because if you want to have a standard on the team, everybody has to adhere to it. So the people at the top have to adhere to the standards if you want the less prominent or younger guys to start to learn the process and get to the point we want to be. It is just about being comfortable with the people you’re around and not trying to force anything.”
The Broncos are back on the field less than two months after a convincing 52-24 victory over Nevada in the 2021 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit. The team opens the 2022 regular season schedule on Friday, Sep. 2 at Michigan State.
WMU plans to celebrate the conclusion of spring practice with a “Spring Game” scrimmage at Waldo Stadium on Saturday, March 26. The game will be free and open to the public. Entertainment and events will be planned to involve the surrounding community and WMU student-athletes. Stay tuned to WMUbroncos.com for information and updates on spring practice and the spring game.
Full interview 2/21/22 (Tim Lester, Corvin Moment)
WMU Football – Team 1??1??7??#LetsRide // #SpringBall pic.twitter.com/rPe0CCNo72
— Western Michigan Football (@WMU_Football) February 21, 2022