The BGSU football team kicked off one of the most uncertain springs in recent memory with its first practice Saturday. The team enters this season looking for replacements at many key positions, most notably quarterback.

“We’ll have a minimum of probably 13 to 14 new starters,” coach Gregg Brandon said in a press conference Friday.

The fact that quarterback Anthony Turner was cited for possession of marijuana last week doesn’t help.

“Obviously Anthony made a serious mistake,” Brandon said. “Discipline that I impose will be handled internally. Anthony is still subject to additional sanctions from the school and the legal system.”

Turner, a redshirt sophomore who is a leading candidate to take over at quarterback, did practice Saturday and Brandon said the citation hasn’t changed his status with the team.

“Anthony was a projected starter but he’s got to earn that spot,” he said.

Turner’s main competition will be from redshirt freshman Freddie Barnes and sophomore Tony Hunter, who was a walk-on for the Falcons last year. The Falcons also signed two quarterbacks who will join the team in August and will also get a chance to compete for the starting job.

“I’ll be looking forward to it just because of the new faces, anytime you get that going there will be a lot of excitement,” Brandon said.

Another area the Falcons will be looking at closely is the offensive line. Redshirt junior Drew Nystrom is penciled in to watch the quarterback’s blind side at left tackle.

“He’s the most experienced tackle that we have and that was a pretty obvious move,” Brandon said.

Redshirt sophomore Brandon Curtis will also be given a chance to start.

Senior Kory Lichtensteiger, a two time All-Mac lineman, is excited about the prospects on the line.

“I think confidence right now is pretty high. Everybody showed they have what it takes in their hearts during winter workouts. Obviously we’re gonna have to see what everybody does when we start practicing,” he said.

The defensive side of the ball has even more voids to fill than the offense. The Falcons are returning only four starters to a unit that struggled against the run last year.

Having defensive coordinator John Lovett for his first spring with the team should help.

“John’s a great football coach with a great football mind,” Brandon said.

Senior defensive end Devon Parks said that he’s excited by some of the younger guys who will look to make an impact on defense this year.

“To be honest with you, these guys are faster, quicker and stronger than we’ve had in previous years,” he said.

Also, safety Deaudre Perry is back with the team and will participate in spring drills after a medical condition ended his 2005 season prematurely.

Because of the inexperience on both sides of the ball this year, Brandon has promised to make spring practices all about fundamentals.

“Offensively we need to become a more physical team. Defensively we need to learn to stop the run because that was one of our problems last season.”

Even though the Falcons may not be anyone’s preseason favorite to win the Mid-American Conference, Brandon isn’t selling his team short. Despite a disappointing 2005 season Brandon believes this team can compete at a championship level.

“What I’m telling this team is it’s a new time now,” he said. “This is a new group of guys, a really new group of guys, and it’s their time to shine. The standard that we have here is that we play for championships.”