THE HILL | The morning air inside Louis Crews Stadium may have been cold, but that didn't stop new Alabama A&M University head football coach Sam Shade and his staff as the Bulldogs open the spring with the first of 15 practices.
 
Alabama A&M will conduct morning practices inside the stadium during the week, beginning at 5:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. on the weekends and Shade said the team came out with a lot of energy during the opening practice.
 
"I felt like we had a good first day," Shade said. "The players were enthusiastic and had a lot of energy. I thought the urgency was good and those were some of things we've been talking about during the offseason. We want to go out starting fast, begin focused and then learning how to finish, whether it is finishing reps or finishing plays and that is what we wanted to do during this first day."
 
Tuesday morning's practice is the first of 15, culminating with the annual Maroon and White Spring Game, slated for 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 at Louis Crews Stadium.
 
Shade said Tuesday's practice is just the start as the team will need to adjust to learning and growing with the new coaching staff.
 
"We are looking for the guys to take the coaching from the classroom to the field each day," Shade said. "That's a big part of it for us, part of the evaluation process. It's spring ball, so we don't want to get too complicated. We've got a lot that we are looking for this spring, but excited about the challenge."
 
Alabama A&M will open the 2025 season on the road against Arkansas on August 30 at Donald K. Reynolds Razorbacks Stadium and will play its first home game the following week (Sept. 6) in the Louis Crews Classic against Alcorn State.
 
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