KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Western Michigan opened its spring football practice period Tuesday with a two-hour session inside the Donald "J" Seelye Athletic Center. 
 
The Broncos finished 7-6 in 2019 and made an appearance in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl in Dallas against Western Kentucky on December 30. WMU returned to the practice field for its second spring workout Thursday morning.
 
LESTER THOUGHTS ON STARTING SPRING DRILLS
Following Western Michigan's first spring practice, head coach Tim Lester gave his assessment of the workout.
 
"It was a good day," Lester said. "We had some new faces out here, which is fun. We have a lot of veterans back. It was a competitive day. I like where we're at. The opportunity from a coaching perspective to try new things and make adjustments is huge. We're always making changes to become more efficient. We're tinkering. We're trying to continue to get better. Really, this is a time for young guys to develop. Schematically, it's a time for coaches to see how things look and how our guys adapt. For young kids, it's time to show how they've developed, grown and learned. There's a lot of value to this time."
 
 A QUARTERBACK CHANGE
With three-year starter Jon Wassink having exhausted his collegiate eligibility following the 2019 campaign, Western Michigan will see a new face behind center this fall. The Broncos return just one quarterback who played in a game last fall in rising redshirt junior Griffin Alstott. Rising redshirt sophomore Kaleb Eleby also returns having played in five career games and coming off a redshirt season in 2019. In his career, Eleby has thrown for 1,092 yards and four touchdowns against three interceptions. 
 
"Kaleb did a great job today," Lester said. "Our pass game was a little off today as we made some tweaks that I'm pretty excited about. Kaleb is throwing it well. You can tell he's been working with the wide receivers a lot and getting in a lot of good time with them. Nick Kargman and Alstott did a good job as well. There are a lot of little nuances we are working on throughout the offense."
 
Last fall, Alstott played in four games and completed five-of-six passes (83.3 percent) for 31 yards and one touchdown. Eleby took an untraditional redshirt year after playing in five contests as a true freshman in 2018. Rising redshirt freshman Kargman also returns and will compete for playing time.
 
"We've done some things to try to streamline some of the reads and make things easier," Lester continued. "I want Kaleb to play loose and comfortable. When you've played as many years as Jon, you're always loose and comfortable. We've streamlined some of the offense for this year's group. Kaleb's arm strength is a plus. It has been fun to tinker the offense to fit it more towards what Kaleb, Nick and Griffin can do."
 
 "He just has a cannon," rising senior linebacker Treshaun Hayward said of Eleby. "His arm talent is out of this world. Any throw that he can make, he will hit it. He has crazy arm talent, which I think will benefit us a lot on offense."
 
"Kaleb and Jon are definitely different personalities," rising redshirt senior offensive guard Mike Caliendo said. "Kaleb is a very vocal leader while Jon was more of a lead-by-example guy. Kaleb has really stepped into the role well so far. I'm excited to see where he can go."
 
NEW LINEBACKER CORPS
WMU lost a pair of two-year starters at linebacker in Alex Grace and Drake Spears, who both exhausted their eligibility.
 
Last fall, Hayward earned All-America accolades from Sporting News and was tabbed the MAC Defensive Player of the Year and first team all-league. Hayward also received MAC West Division Defensive Player of the Week nods on September 16 and October 28.
 
"For this year, the goals don't change," Hayward said. "The only thing that changes is the season. The top goal is still the MAC championship. One thing I really learned last year was maintaining discipline and being consistent. I think that's a thing for all linebackers to have. You have to do your job and not do too much. You have to do your 1/11th. That's something our whole team tries to emphasize."  
 
 Rising redshirt sophomore Corvin Moment returns to the mix af­ter missing the first 12 games of the 2019 season. He was declared academically ineligible in August, but regained his eligibility after the fall semester and returned for the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl, booking two tackles.
 
"Another guy who comes to my mind is Zaire Barnes," Hayward said of the rising junior who has stood out during the offseason. "Zaire is our strong side linebacker. He has really gotten better and better. He has done so much work that it's hard not to notice."
 
FRENCH FROM DEFENSE TO OFFENSE
Western Michigan rising redshirt senior Wesley French is back to being the man in the middle. The Benton Harbor, Mich., product began his career as an offensive lineman before flipping to the defensive side during the spring of 2018.
 
"I'm always blunt with my guys," Lester said. "Last year when I talked to Wes, I told him we were loaded along the offensive line so he probably wasn't going to play. We had him at defensive line last year, but then he got hurt. We knew at Wes' pro day, whenever that was going to be, that he'd be preparing as an offensive lineman for the next level. With [Luke] Juriga leaving, Wes' injury might have been a blessing in disguise. We've talked about that. Wes has known about this since last August when he got hurt. It opened up an opportunity to have a senior guy up front who is big and physical. Wes has done a great job of getting healthy. It brings our offensive line to probably the strength of our team with having another veteran in there."
 
French, who has played in 20 career games, was an Academic All-MAC honoree in 2018 after playing in 13 games and starting four. He finished the campaign with 22 tackles and 1.5 tackles for lost yardage.
 
"Having Wes back on offense is fun," Caliendo said. "He is a great personality who brings energy every single day. He's going to be nasty along the line. We're excited to have him with us."
 
In June, 2019, French graduated from Western Michigan with a bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary health services.
 
ESKRIDGE BACK TO OFFENSE, FOR NOW
After suffering a season-ending injury in week four at Syracuse, rising redshirt senior D'Wayne Eskridge has returned to practice for the Broncos. Eskridge entered last fall looking to play both wide receiver and cornerback. For now, the focus will be on offense for the Bluffton, Ind., product.
 
"We're leaning more towards offense right now," Lester said. "We'll use him on defense if we need him. We've gone back and forth with him. He wanted to focus more on offense. I wasn't upset when he said he wanted to focus more on offense! The great thing is, he knows our defense so we can always send him back there if we need to. Our plan, right now, is to focus more on offense this year."
 
During the 2018 season, Eskridge caught 38 passes for 776 yards (20.42 yards per catch) and three touchdowns. He hauled in a career-high 240 receiving yards on eight grabs and two scores against Syracuse in the 2018 opener, earning MAC West Division Offensive Player of the Week accolades. Last fall, Eskridge caught three passes for 73 yards (24.33 yards per catch) in his four games played. 

New number. Same ?????? @deeeskrisge1 #LetsRide pic.twitter.com/e5x52pqDK6

— WMU Football (@WMU_Football) February 20, 2020

 
BRONCO AT THE NFL SCOUTING COMBINE
Former Bronco running back LeVante Bellamy will spend next week in his hometown of Indianapolis, Ind., at the NFL Scouting Combine.
 
Bellamy, a 5-9, 190-pound Indianapolis product, was named a Doak Walker Award semifinalist and the Mid-American Conference Vern Smith Leadership Award winner as the league MVP. The Doak Walker Award is presented annually to the top running back in the nation. Bellamy was also tabbed the MAC Offensive Player of the Year and first team all-league.
 

?? Indy@wmu____2 showing off in his home city for the #NFLCombine#LetsRide | #BroncoPros

— WMU Football (@WMU_Football) February 10, 2020

"I can't wait to watch him run," Lester added. "We all know that's one thing he can do very well. It's a great opportunity for him to showcase what he can do."
 
In 2019, Bellamy carried 266 times for 1,472 yards (5.53 yards/carry) and 23 touchdowns. He added 15 receptions for 55 yards. Bellamy's 23 rushing TDs tied for fourth most in MAC single-season history and led the country. He ended the campaign standing third nationally in points scored per game (10.6), fifth in total points scored (138), ninth in rushing yards per game (113.2) and 10th in total rushing yards.
 
THREE TRANSFERS GO THROUGH SPRING
Three transfers enrolled at Western Michigan in January and will be spending spring practice with the Broncos. Cornerback Therran Coleman graduated from Pittsburgh in December and played in 34 games over the past three seasons for the Panthers. Running back Jaxson Kincaide graduated from Nevada in December, played in 38 games and rushed 199 times for 894 yards (4.49 yards per rush) and six touchdowns with the Wolfpack.
 
Michigan State transfer La'Darius Jefferson, a running back, has also enrolled at WMU and can go through spring practice, but must sit out the 2020 season due to NCAA transfer rules. He will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2021 campaign.
 
PRO DAY COMING
A collection of former Broncos will turn their attention to WMU's upcoming Pro Day, which is set for Thursday, March 19.
 
#LetsRide