Drake football coach Rick Fox says the transition has been smooth as he goes through his first spring as a head coach. After spending six years as the offensive line coach Fox took over after former coach Chris Creighton left to take over at Eastern Michigan and admits he has a much different style than the former coach. “Coach Creighton, when a recruit would commit to Drake, he would start barking on the phone,” Fox says. “I tried to do that once and it just didn’t sound very good. It’s just not me.”
Fox says the style on the field won’t change much. The exception is a defense which is working with new coordinator Todd Stepsis. “They are ahead of where I had hoped them to be,” Fox says. After winning two straight Pioneeer Football League titles the Bulldogs slipped to 6-5 last year and part of the reason was a ground game that only averaged 96 yards per game.
Fox says the Bulldogs need to be more balanced. “We’ve got to have that ability, we are not going to be a run it no matter what (team)…we’ve got to be able to do both,” Fox says.
Drake’s spring game is April 19th.