Dave Doeren kicked off his reign as the NIU head football coach Tuesday morning as spring practice opened for players and coaches. Hired in December, it was the first time Doeren was able to see his new team on the field, as opposed to in meetings and in the weight room.

Rain pelted Huskie Stadium for most of the morning session, and temperatures hung in the low 40s, but Doeren was able to see what he needed in his first live-action look at the Huskies.

“There were some things I thought were sloppy,” Doeren said. “The thing I loved was the effort and the intensity. They sprinted out the door. They couldn’t wait to get on the field.”

On the field the Huskies ran the usual array of spring drills while ironing out any minor kinks in the transition to the schemes run by Doeren. The head coach and the players noted similarities in Doeren’s schemes and those of former head coach Jerry Kill. They also noted there wasn’t a change in the way practices were conducted.

Of noticeable difference was the intensity and physicality of the practice. After winning the most games in school history in the 2010 season, which included a heartbreaking loss in the MAC Championship, Kill leaving for Minnesota, and a landslide victory over Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl; the Huskies were practicing hard and hitting hard on day one.

“[We want to be] as physical as we can be without being on the edge of out of control,” Doeren said. “Its a violent game and you got to play it that way.”

With the needed intangibles to start the season in place, the focus for NIU in the coming days will be to limit mistakes and perfect what changes have come with Doeren’s system.

The biggest difference for the players, according to middle linebacker Devon Butler, was a new set of play calls and different terminology to learn. Butler said the language for flip calls, strength calls and tight end trades are different from the 2010 staff, which will take some time for the defensive players to learn.

Most of the errors were minor on Tuesday and by the end of practice the Huskies began to gel with each other and correct the mistakes made earlier in practice.

“I think we were doing a little too much thinking instead of playing,” Butler said. “Toward the end of practice I think we got a lot better. We started to calm down and got the hang of it.”

For the offense, not only is the terminology different but the offense will be going to a no-huddle scheme for 2011. This means a more up-tempo pace and more reliance on the decision making of senior quarterback Chandler Harnish.

“You’re thinking a lot more than last year, having the same offense for three years,” said center Scott Wedige. “I think it went really well. I think we have a lot of improvement to make but I’m really excited to see what comes of this.”

NIU will return to practice at Huskie Stadium on Thursday, March 24 from 7:15-9:30 a.m. The team will practice every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday until spring practice concludes with the spring game on Saturday, April 23 at 2 p.m.