USD spring football: Coyotes keeping standards high under new coach Matt Vitzthum
· Yahoo Sports
Apr. 3—VERMILLION — Friday morning was practice No. 5 of the spring for the USD Coyote football team, meaning they are now five practices into the Matt Vitzthum era.
And while Vitzthum is USD's third head coach in the last three seasons, things don't appear to have changed a whole lot.
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And why would they?
The Coyotes went 10-3 and 11-3 in their last two seasons under Bob Nielson, then 10-5 last year under Travis Johansen. Johansen was Nielson's defensive coordinator, and Vitzthum was Johansen's co-offensive coordinator.
There's a system here, and it's working, so Vitzthum isn't going to mess with it just for the sake of putting his own spin on things.
"I trust what we have here, I really do," said Vitzthum, who spent a decade at Division II power Grand Valley State before joining the Coyotes as wide receivers coach in 2024. "This isn't a slogan program, this isn't a big culture-this-or-that. We come in here and get to work, and that's what we're gonna continue to do. There's some things that will change here and there or maybe I do different than Travis or Bob, but that's not a mindset I have, that I have to change this or that. I trust these guys. I trust the process we have here and we're sticking to that."
The players have noticed. Their reception to Vitzthum's appointment after Johansen left to be defensive coordinator at Rutgers seemed overwhelmingly positive, and nothing has changed since. They started practice last week and the coach and players agreed that Friday's was their best yet.
"I like how things are going," said senior defensive back Tim White. "There's maybe been a little bit of a shift but we're still doing the exact same things. The standard is still the standard, and we're hitting the ground running. Vitz is a great coach. I believe in him and he knows the whole team is behind him."
As comfortable as Vitzthum already appears to be in the captain's chair this is his first head coaching job. He admitted taking the practice field for the first time as the leader of the Coyotes brought some nervous excitement, but once he blew the whistle for the first time everything fell into place.
"There's definitely some butterflies but to be honest with you, between the white lines is probably where I feel the most comfortable," Vitzthum said. "There's some moments in practice where I'm used to standing with a certain group or watching a certain things, so I've had to adjust my eyes, adjust my thought process, but honestly it's been great, kind of in the middle of your career, to have that reset."
The biggest question mark facing the Coyotes is at quarterback, where senior returner Nevan Cremascoli, senior transfer Jackson Proctor and redshirt freshman Austyn Modrzewski are competing to replace all-time great Aidan Bouman. Vitzthum said all three are showing good things early on in camp.
"It's three guys going at it, and I love the competition," said Vitzthum, whose team will host their 'Family Day' scrimmage on April 25. "Each guy, like I expected going into it, brings something different, and it's really shaking out the way I thought it would. It's just a dead-even race right now, just guys competing. One guy will have a better period than the other and then one other guy will have a better period, but guys are at different points, so we're allowing them the growth they need to really become the best versions of themselves."
A starter won't be decided in the spring, and in fact, Vitzthum said he doesn't want the players concentrating on earning their spot on the depth chart just yet. Spring ball is for improving and honing skills so they're ready to compete at the highest level they can in August.
"The thing we really talk about is mastery," the coach said. "We're really trying to create that mastery on each side of the ball of our scheme, of what we're trying to do, and then, again, for guys that are older, not just my job, but what are we trying to do conceptually as an offense or defense? And when you do that and you compete at a high level, jobs take care of themselves. Yeah, we made it very clear that every rep's evaluated, but that isn't the focal point. The focal point is daily improvement and mastery."
That's something the players can appreciate. With three consecutive double-digit-win seasons, the Coyotes have as much momentum as they've ever had, but they know the entire program and its fans are hungry for more.
"Things are going really well," said senior wide receiver Tysen Boze. "Everyone here knew what the standard was here even before (Vitzthum) got in the shoes of the head coach. So he's kept things rolling in a good way. High expectations are normal for us, but we're excited to play for more than just the quarterfinals and semifinals."