Spring football opened for the Portland State Vikings on Wednesday with crisp 90-minute practice and a new look on offense and defense. 

Fourth-year Head Coach Bruce Barnum acknowledged that changes were necessary after a disappointing season in 2017. The most obvious was the addition of new defensive coordinator Payam Saadat. The second, which will be a little more subtle because he has always been a part of the offense, is Barnum back to calling plays on offense.

"There is a new defensive system and a new defensive coordinator, so the young guys we have are learning that new system," said Barnum. "There is a change in offense as well. My offensive coordinator (Steve Cooper) got hired by Coach Frost at Nebraska. There will be a change there for everybody, back to Barnum's way, so I'm going to have more fun."

Applying those schemes during spring will be added to the individual development that is emphasized every spring. But beyond that, Barnum saw a need to improve the overall attitude of the program - always a challenge when wins have been hard to come by.

"I had to fix the vibe, it wasn't right. Portland State is better than it showed last year," said Barnum. "I love the vibe that we have created this spring and the personality of this team. We created an elephant (with last season's performance) but we are going to come out here and eat it one bite at a time.

"In recruiting this year, I had a recruit that we brought in say, 'coach, you guys are recruiting like you are 11-0.' I said, 'damn right, we have a plan and we are putting it in place and let's do it.' And he joined us and wanted to be a part of it. 

"Yesterday, I heard one of our players ask, 'why are all the coaches smiling, running around the field?' We had lost some of that. That's important because they will do what we do. The coaches need to make the sky blue and get rid of that cloud we had."

Portland State remains a young group heading into 2018. Among the 78 players on the roster during spring practice, 11 are seniors, 15 are juniors, 23 are sophomores, 20 are redshirt freshmen and nine are true freshmen. That is as much due to a change in recruiting philosophy that has PSU more high school-oriented. Still, the time has come for a number of the youngsters to step up. And that is what spring is all about.

"We have some green guys that haven't played, but I think they are ready to play," said Barnum. "Probably the only thing truly solidified are the tight ends on offense. They have been around and they are going to be a solid group. They are going to be stars for us. And the defensive front. The interior guys right now are okay. But everywhere else there are some tweaks. We are excited to put the right guy in those spots. That is our job as coaches."

SIDELINE CHANGES: Payam Saadat takes over as Defensive Coordinator in 2018. Saadat has served as a Defensive Coordinator at Cal Poly (2006-08), Army (2009-13) and Central Washington (2014-15).

"Payam Saadat is very knowledgeable. He is very much a player's coach. I don't know if I have ever heard him raise his voice," said Barnum. "He is a teacher that cares about kids and is very knowledgeable about the type of defense we are going to run now.

"We have some changes on defense that I don't think the Big Sky has seen in a while. It's no secret squirrel stuff. It's just a system that hasn't been around for about six years, consistently, in this conference." 

Also joining the defensive side of the ball is former Viking player Manoa Latu. Formerly an assistant coach at Central Washington, Utah State and Independence (KS) Community College, Latu played for the Vikings in 2010-11. 

2018 Spring Practice Schedule
Thurs, April 5          8-9:30 a.m.
Fri, April 6               8-9:30 a.m.
Mon, April 9            8-9:30 a.m.
Tues, April 10         8-9:30 a.m.
Thurs, April 12        8-9:30 a.m.
Fri, April 13             8-9:30 a.m. (scrimmage)
Mon, April 16          8-9:30 a.m.
Tues, April 17         8-9:30 a.m.
Thurs, April 19        8-9:30 a.m.
Fri, April 20             8-9:30 a.m. (scrimmage)
Tues, April 24         8-9:30 a.m.
Thurs, April 26        8-9:30 a.m.
Sat, April 28            Spring Game, 11 a.m.
Mon, April 30          8-9:30 a.m.

All practices and scrimmages at Stott Community Field

SPRING PROSPECTUS