With jersey numbers yet to be earned, players who are vying for varsity snaps down to those wanting to make the freshman team split off into their respective position drills Wednesday afternoon looking to make a good first impression.

The no pads practice featured play call recognition, route running and a variety of non-contact scenarios. The framework needed for successful preseason, regular season and postseason.

“We are going to get better every day,” Minot High football coach Barry Holmen said. “We are going to have to be real patient, I think, with how we pace our progression this year because of our newness in some spots. So, we might not be as far along install wise offensively and defensively as we would in another year. But, that’s OK, as long as we can execute what we do have in. We don’t need to be all fancy.”

While the Magi bring back about half the starters on both sides of the ball, there is a noticeable lack of depth in upperclassmen with 38 juniors and seniors combined.

Alex Eisen/MDN Various Minot High football players run through different drills on Wednesday.

“That’s pretty low for us,” Holmen said. “We are blessed to have around 120 kids. But, we are very young. Two thirds of those kids are freshmen and sophomores… We have to develop some new kids, as well as some of the older kids. We are going to have to look for some sophomores in particular to help round out our depth chart.”

One of the hardest hit positions depth wise will be the offensive and defensive line. Many of the linemen are going to be asked to do double duty.

“That’s how it’s looking right now,” senior lineman Logan Krueger said. “I did it last year, so that’s my expectation right now… Last year, it was a challenge for probably the first game. But then, your body gets used to the grind.”

Despite the lack of depth, Holmen remains optimistic of the new-look Magi.

“I think that we have the potential to become a very relevant team in our league,” he said. “Right away, though, it’s clear that we have to create some depth because we have less juniors and seniors out this year then we have had in recent years.”

Alex Eisen/MDN Various Minot High football players run through different drills on Wednesday.

Concerns of filling vacancies in any sport are normal at the start of the season. As much as it’s stressful, uncovering new talent is rewarding.

“Question marks are good,” Holmen said. “Because new kids and new opportunities means excitement and energy.”

The Magi have two weeks to mesh the old with the new before their season-opener on Aug. 25 against West Fargo at Duane Carlson Stadium. While the goal is of course to be ready to go by then, it’s not the end of the world if it takes them a little longer to click.

“You want to win every game, but you don’t have to win every game,” Holmen said. “You have to get to the playoffs. The (Minot) Vistas are an example of that. You got to play well at the end. They were oh so close to knocking off a team that is pretty good at baseball and some of those kids are on our team. So, they know how to compete. We have leadership and I think some high character kids.”

That starts with the odds-on favorite to be the starting quarterback in senior Creighton Rudolph, who was also a part of the Minot Vistas American Legion baseball team that lost in the state championship last month.

Alex Eisen/MDN Various Minot High football players run through different drills on Wednesday.

“I think the guys kind of look up to you with me being in this role, so I got to contribute,” Rudolph said. “You got to set an example, obviously, for the younger guys. You got to show them the level of athlete you want to be, level of teammate you want to be and the level of football we want to play at.”

Backing up the talk, Rudolph and his fellow upperclassmen led the warm-ups — except when they were getting pulled off to the side to do interviews with the television stations.

With the hoopla of opening day over, it’s time to get to work. Actions speak a lot louder than words.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.