Fever settling back into groove
It’s just five days into the Tri-Cities Fever training camp, but new head coach Ryan Lingenfelder has lost his voice.
OK, maybe he has had a cold.
But Lingenfelder has also done a lot of yelling.
And for the intense coach, that’s good.
“It’s been very competitive,” Lingenfelder said. “The best thing about it is the guys are buying into the Tri-Cities Fever organization and culture. They respect the Fever brand.”
That Fever brand will be unveiled for the 2016 Indoor Football League season Feb. 20, when the team hosts the Spokane Empire.
It’ll be the first game for Lingenfelder as Tri-Cities’ head coach. The former Fever defensive coordinator was an assistant for longtime Tri-Cities head coach Adam Shackleford, who left in the offseason to coach Spokane.
Lingenfelder, who was hired by Fever owner Teri Carr last fall, likes what he has seen so far.
“We have competition at every position,” he said.
He’s most impressed with the skill position players on offense.
“I think we have the makeup of a legitimate offense in this league,” Lingenfelder said. “I really like our receiving corps.”
That corps includes Dejuan Miller, DeJay Lester and Akeem Foster.
For Miller, the Fever’s second-leading receiver last season, this has been a different training camp.
“I think one thing that coach Lingenfelder brings is a different type of intensity and focus to camp,” Miller said. “Coach Shackleford was more laid-back. Lingenfelder is a defensive guy who is locked in and focused.”
Lingenfelder also likes his running backs and defensive backs, all of whom have speed.
The Fever also boast three strong quarterbacks in Dominique Blackman (last season’s No. 2 rusher for the Fever), Patrick McCain and Hunter Wanket.
Lester, who joined the Fever late last season, was happy to see a familiar face.
“Hunter Wanket, I played with him in Bemidji,” Lester said.
The team is set to practice from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at Edgar Brown Stadium in Pasco. The Fever will move into the Toyota Center on Monday for four consecutive days of practice.
NOTES: Lingenfelder will not set his 25-man roster until he has to, which is 48 hours before the opener. … The league had to do its schedule a third time when the expansion Minnesota Havok was folded last month. The Fever dropped a contest against Billings, giving the teams three matchups instead of four, and added a game with Nebraska for a home-and-home series. … A number of players around the IFL are refusing to report to their teams in hopes that the fledgling outdoors Major League Football league gets off the ground. … Carr said that season-ticket numbers are so far comparable with last season. … Lingenfelder said his kicker, Steven Wakefield, gets into camp today. … Besides Blackman, Lester and Miller, other returning Fever players in camp include OL Rodrick Gladney, LB Leon Jackson, DL Brandon Rankin and DL Pat Wertz.
This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Fever settling back into groove."