After off-and-on rain and the cooler mid-day practice, which was mostly situational work and not directly a scrimmage, first-year head coach Eric Kjar had technique and effort on his mind while senior quarterback Devin Brown thought about continued team formation and harmony as the Wildcats head into summer.

Kjar, also the offensive coordinator, ruminated about his offense.

“Our defense is still a little bit ahead of (the offense), for sure. I like the way they’re playing and the energy which they play with,” Kjar said. “We’ve got to catch up to that as far as on the offensive side of the ball. But I think there’s good things that are making their way into what we’re going to be able to do down the road … you see the glimpses of what we want and what our offense will be.

“It’s just the consistency of it. We’ve got to be more consistent in our approach, our execution, understanding our assignment, and being able to do it against different looks, which we got a bunch of today.”

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

Kjar also said he wants his quarterbacks to identify matchups more quickly, offensive line to be sharper in pass protect and run blocking, running backs to see the right lanes more often, and receivers to be cleaner on releases from the line.

“Situationally, I think we were good in some areas,” Brown said. “That last drive, we were pretty good about managing the clock and getting down to the situation to win the game. … But there’s definitely times where we took sacks in those situations that are critical downs, and we can’t do that.”

Defensively, Kjar says he wants more physicality from the front seven, especially in the run game, and still sees some need at the linebacker spot.

“We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to address that,” he said.

With more than half of the roster new to Weber State, Kjar said the biggest challenge is the time it takes to get “on the same page” with a new offense and new defense.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

“Getting them into that groove where they’re not having to think as much and they can just play in all three phases is going to be really critical, so that’s the biggest challenge you run into,” Kjar said. “That’s why you have spring ball and then hopefully as you move from that, we can pick up and hit it running when we get into fall camp.”

What’s next is key, Brown said. The well-traveled quarterback who once prepped for Kjar in high school said it’s a new team every year anyway, so he’s seen it as his job to get to know his teammates off the field so they can trust each other on the field.

Now comes a four-month summer when coaches are required to step back. Other than strength and conditioning coaches overseeing those workouts, it’s on players to take the next step.

“Summer is the time where the team really takes the next step of being one unit. That’s going to be important for me and important for all of our leaders on the team is to get guys together off the field and really build that connection even more,” Brown said. “When the coaches aren’t around, we’re going to be doing (player-run practices) and everything on our own, and that’s really important for us to continue to build that unity and momentum into the season.

“The quarterbacks are running the show and we’ve got to make sure everybody’s on one page and there’s no goofing off or anything like that. It’s got to be very detail-oriented to really build us into the season.”

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

With the season opener on Aug. 29, WSU should open “fall” camp in the final days of July.

SPRING GAME HIGHLIGHTS

Once lightning cleared, Brown took what appeared to be No. 1 reps at quarterback though, through most of the day, redshirt freshman Kingston Tisdell got the majority of snaps. Sophomore Cash McCollum and junior college transfer DJ Duran got in the mix as well.

On the first series of the scrimmage starting at the offense-side 25, Brown connected with Marvin Session for 13 yards and Tate Kjar for 23 to get the offense inside the 10, but the defense stuffed several runs and forced Braden Carr into a 24-yard field goal, which he made.

Carr later missed a 48-yarder wide, and Oscar Dominguez missed from 32 and 28 yards during the action. Eric Kjar said the kicking game would definitely be a focus before the season arrives.

Tisdell threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ammon Munyer.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

In red-zone work (in which Brown didn’t take reps), Tisdell threw a 5-yard TD to Devin Ford and ran in a score from 11 yards out. Robert Young caught a touchdown pass.

Young also hauled in an acrobatic catch on a 30-yarder from Brown.

The defense totaled four interceptions during the proceedings. Arizona State transfer safety Tommy Romano pulled one off Tisdell, as did Box Elder High alum Mason Jeppsen. Veteran cornerback Tajon Evans picked off Brown and Jayden Mayberry intercepted Duran.

Among those who tallied whistle-sacks were linebacker and Idaho transfer Will Cornelson, freshman linebacker Owen Munk, returning senior defensive end Josh Hardy, and Lamar transfer cornerback Tre Turner.

Very late in the action, senior returning safety Pierre Hunter and Tate Kjar, a sophomore receiver transfer from Utah State, got in a skirmish during a pass play downfield and benches partially cleared to break up the fight.

Robert Casey, Weber State Athletics

The head coach made his philosophy known afterwards.

“Some coaches really like (fights), they even condone it. … I don’t like that at all,” Eric Kjar said. “I like the fire and stuff like that, but I don’t think it’s good for you as a team. … We’ll address it and look at it too on film, to see what was going on with it.”

Wide receiver Devin Ford, right, crosses the goal line for a touchdown during the Weber State football spring game Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Tight end Grady Milholen, right, battles linebacker Owen Munk for extra yards after making a reception during the Weber State football spring game Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Quarterback DJ Duran (16) follows lineman Alijah Bray (75) on a run attempt during the Weber State football spring game Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

Wide receiver Robert young, center right, slaps hands with lineman Luke Sampson, center left, and running back Spencer Ferguson after catching a touchdown pass in the Weber State football spring game Saturday, April 11, 2026, at Stewart Stadium in Ogden.

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