FERRIDAY — Ferriday High School head football coach Cleothis Cummings took things back to the basics in the Trojans’ first day of spring practice Thursday.

With just 10 days slated for spring practice, Cummings decided to focus on basic fundamentals on the first day with nearly half the team donning a gold practice jersey, symbolizing they’re newcomers to the team.

Most of those newcomers were eighth graders getting ready to transfer to high school in the fall.

The seasoned Trojans wore black jerseys to show their seniority and made sure to lead every drill off with a burst of energy to show the newcomers just what to expect if they want to succeed as a Trojan.

Cummings started his practices off with agility drills and moved on to separating the players by position to work on fundamentals specific to their duties.

“We’re just going to work the basics and teach them the rules and let them understand why they’re playing that position,” Cummings said. “We’re just trying to fine tune some of the veterans and introduce the young guys to what we’re doing.”

Despite a disappointing 3-8 record in 2013, the senior players and coaches were pumped to get back on the field and start things off the right way.

Soon-to-be senior A.C. Cummings was excited for his first day of his final spring practice.

A.C. will have to step up in the wide receiver position to make up for the loss of Keiwuan Miles.

“I’m excited about being out here again,” A.C. said. “We’re ready to go to work. I know I need to get better at running my routes for next year.”

As A.C. gets himself prepared for next year, he will also be responsible for getting the gold jerseys up to speed.

“We’re going to try to turn it up every day,” A.C. said. “I told the (newcomers) to come out here and work hard, and we’ll help each other out and work as a team.”

Coach Cummings said he needs that type of leadership from all of his seniors.

“We look to the (seniors) every year to provide leadership, and if we can get that together, that will be a great stepping stone for us with helping the freshmen,” Cummings said.

Cummings said each day will get more intense, and he will see where his players stand in their spring game May 22.