The Sacramento State football team has spent multiple days in the months of March and April preparing for the annual spring game and its upcoming fall season.

The Hornets are looking to build off of last year’s 7-4 (6-2 Big Sky Conference) record, which included five wins in their last six games and a Causeway Cup victory.

The spring game is an intersquad scrimmage that will serve as the first live game action for the team going into the fall season.

Sac State coach Jody Sears said he sees the spring as a great time to iron out little mistakes that could potentially plague the team during the year.

“There (have) been several negatives, like our inconsistency with mental errors on both sides of the ball,” Sears said. “You can’t have that (if you want) to win a championship.”

Sears referenced penalties as one the major issues for the team, so far, this spring. However, he said a major positive is the amount of returning players to the team for next season.

“Our numbers are really good right now; we have a lot of the kids back from last fall,” Sears said. “We are getting a lot more reps in this spring than we have in the past.”

The Hornets have a large group of incoming seniors going into next season, which will be led by current juniors Dre Terrell (cornerback) and Kevin Thomson (quarterback).

“You can tell the maturity we have out here now,” Terrell said. “We’re an older team; I believe we have 26-30 (incoming) seniors and it showcases out here.

“Spring is all about just getting back to the basics, getting right, with your techniques and fundamentals.”

Sac State’s defense allowed 407.6 yards and 29.7 points per game last season to opposing offenses. Running backs also rushed for an average of 154.3 yards per game while opposing quarterbacks threw for 253.4 yards against the Hornets.

However, the offense countered this by scoring an average of 37.6 points while averaging 441.8 total yards per game last year. Thomson threw the ball for 228.5 yards per game, while the running backs had a breakout year rushing for 225.8 yards per game.

“We made a big step, last year, running the football but that’s a key,” Sears said. “At the same time, on the defensive side of the ball, we need to get better at stopping the run.”

Sears also said that the team is focused on playing a full 60 minutes, which was a problem that hurt the Hornets last season.

“As a team, we all need to learn to finish strong,” Sears said. “Not just three quarters, but the whole thing. That has been the emphasis all winter and spring.”

Last year, Sac State almost lost a huge lead to rival UC Davis during the Causeway Classic. The Hornets led 52-21 in the third quarter but only came out with a five-point victory (52-47).

“Stop the run, create turnovers; we’re practicing that every day,” Terrell said. “We did pretty well in the turnover margin last year, but there is always room for improvement. That will give our explosive offense a better opportunity to put points up on the (scoreboard).”

Although Thomson missed three games last season due to an undisclosed injury, he was still able to help improve Sac State’s offense. The Hornets averaged 373.4 points per game in 2016 which is about 70 yards less than they averaged in 2017.

“I’m always working on technique a lot in the offseason,” Thomson said. “Being a student of the game is something you can always get better at. Watch more film, master the offense, and if you can do that then you’ll be good regardless of what your physical attributes are.”

Thomson said he looks forward to playing against Terrell and the rest of the defense in the spring game on Friday at 6 p.m. at Hornet Stadium.

“The defense likes to talk a lot, so it’ll be fun to finally get in a real game situation against them to see how we do,” Thomson said.