TOWSON, Md. – With more than 90 players scheduled to participate, Coach Rob Ambrose and the Tiger football team will open their Spring Practice drills on Tuesday, March 27 at 5:00 a.m.

Over the next four weeks, the Tigers will be up early and on the practice field in the pre-dawn hours. They will practice four times this week, four times next week, three times the following week and three times in the final week, leading up to Tiger Bowl II, scheduled for Saturday, April 21 at 1:00 p.m., at Minnegan Field at Johnny Unitas® Stadium.

This is the second year in a row that the Tigers will hold their Spring practice sessions early in the morning.

“It worked out pretty well last year,” said Ambrose. “We get the players out here early, they get their work done and then they go off to class.”

Coach Ambrose can hardly be blamed for repeating last Spring's ritual. After holding the Spring practices in the early morning, the Tigers produced an amazing 2011 season. In the 2011 season, the Tigers were the most improved team in NCAA FCS as they won their first Colonial Athletic Association championship and made their first NCAA FCS playoff appearance.

A consensus choice to finish last in the CAA, the Tigers may have been the most surprising team in college football last year. Nationally-ranked for the final nine weeks of the season, the Tigers opened the season with convincing wins over Morgan State (42-3), No. 20 Villanova (31-10), and Colgate (42-17). After a loss at Maryland, the Tigers bounced back with a 31-28 victory over No. 14 Richmond, a miraculous 39-35 win at No. 18 Old Dominion and a 38-27 victory over No. 14 William and Mary. That gave the Tigers a 6-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the CAA.

After a 35-30 loss to Delaware, the Tigers went on the road to beat CAA leader Maine, 40-30. In a showdown for first place in the CAA, the Tigers dealt No. 7 New Hampshire a 56-42 loss. In the regular season finale, they clinched the CAA title with a 28-17 victory at Rhode Island. Their season ended with a 40-38 loss to No. 6 Lehigh in the FCS playoffs.

Ranked ninth in the nation with a final record of 9-3, the Tigers became the first program to appear in the NCAA playoffs at the Division III, Division II and FCS levels.

“Last year is over,” says Ambrose, the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award as the FCS Coach of the Year. “It was a very rewarding season. We went into the season fighting for any scrap of respect we could get. We were looking for respect on a personal level and within the league. We earned that.

“Now, we have to change our focus,” he adds. “We need to maintain our level of success and that will be just as difficult. Our expectations are higher and we've got to keep working the way we did to get to this level.”

Coach Ambrose cautions, “This program has reached this point before but we haven't maintained the level of success. In Division III, we were good for a while. Then, we had success in Division II (1979-86). Even at this level (FCS), we were good for a heartbeat (1993-94). It's our goal to maintain this course for the first time. We need to stay committed and achieve long-term respectability.”

As he starts his fourth season as the Tigers' coach, Ambrose is looking forward to a very competitive Spring Practice season.

“We are going to have tremendous competition in the Spring,” he says. “Although we have almost everyone returning from last year, nothing is set in bedrock. Our depth is much better than before and it won't be nearly as fluid.

“I know that we are a better football team than the one that played Lehigh in the FCS playoffs last December,” he says.

Although the Tigers lost two offensive starters (fullback Tyler Wharton, tackle Henry Glackin) from their explosive unit, most of the team returns. Last season, the Tigers led the CAA with 229.9 rushing yards per game. They also averaged 34.8 points per contest, 12th in the nation. Towson also set single season records for points scored (418) and touchdowns scored (57).

The offensive line returns four starters, including junior tackle Eric Pike, a third team All-CAA selection as a sophomore. Junior center Doug Shaw also returns, along with junior guards Anthony Davis, Randall Harris and Charles Johnson.

“Our offensive line played very well last year and that was a key to our offensive success,” says Ambrose. “Now, we have added depth with four or five red-shirt freshmen and a couple of transfers.”

The Tigers' group of wide receivers is also deep and talented, led by senior Tom Ryan. Ryan (below) led the team with 39 catches for 560 yards and three touchdowns. In fact, the Tigers have their top five receivers back from last season. A pair of transfers from the Un iversity of Connecticut, junior Leon Kinnard and senior Gerrard Sheppard made an impact on the passing game last year. Kinnard was the Tigers' second-leading receiver with 36 catches for 402 yards and a touchdown while Sheppard caught 22 passes for 274 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“We have a lot of talent at the receiver spots,” admits Ambrose. “Each of them brings something different to the team. We also have very good depth at the spot.”

Led by sophomore Terrance West, the Tiger running game is deep and talented. A first team Walter Camp All-American selection last year, West was also the winner of the first Jerry Rice Award as the top freshman in NCAA FCS. He led FCS with 29 touchdowns and rushed for 1,294 yards, the third-highest single season total in school history.

Ambrose admits, “running back may be the one area where we are the deepest and the most talented.”

In addition to West, the Tigers return senior Dominique Booker, junior Sterlin Phifer and sophomore Trea Jones. In addition, the Tigers will be giving Clayton Minott, a red-shirt freshman, more opportunities in the spring.

The quarterback position is also deep and has talent. While junior Peter Athens plays for the Tiger lacrosse team this spring, last year's starter, junior Grant Enders will share time with a pair of talented red-shirt freshmen, Connor Frazier and Price Litton.

One of the Tiger goals this Spring will be replacing Wharton at fullback.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers have two veterans who earned All-CAA first team honors last season.

On the defensive line, three experienced starters return. Seniors Frank Beltre, Matt Morgan (right) and Romale Tucker return for their third season as starters.

Beltre was a first team All-CAA selection last season after making 68 tackles, which was fourth on the team. He will start at defensive end opposite Tucker. Tucker led all CAA defensive linemen with 73 tackles last season.

Seniors Alexander DiSanzo and Danzel White are back to lead the linebackers. DiSanzo made 68 tackles and intercepted three passes in his first season after transferring from Boston College. White was second on the team with 77 tackles.

“In the secondary, it is going to be a war for playing time,” predicts Ambrose. “We ended last season with barely enough players in the secondary. However, there is no other position on the team that has received the immediate upgrade that our secondary has.”

Senior safety Jordan Dangerfield will lead the secondary. A first team All-CAA selection, he was also named as a first team All-American by College Sports Journal. He led the Tigers with 93 tackles despite missing two games with an injury. He was also a virtual turnover machine as he intercepted two passes, recovered two fumbles and forced a pair of fumbles.

“Jordan has earned the respect of his teammates and his coaches,” says Ambrose. “At the start of last season, I predicted everyone in the CAA would know him by the end of the year and now he has their respect.”

In the secondary, Dangerfield will be joined by sophomore safety Thomas Bradley, junior cornerback Corey Ford and sophomore cornerback Tye Smith.

However, the secondary has been enhanced by the addition of some very talented transfer students. Junior safety Darrell Givens has transferred from Rutgers and he will compete for a starting spot. Cornerback Jordan Love is a transfer from Georgia who will also be vying for a starting role. In addition, red-shirt freshman Ben Harvey transferred to Towson from South Carolina.

“We have never had so many players coming out for Spring Football,” says Ambrose. “I don't think we ever had this many when I was an assistant at Connecticut. For the first time, we are going to be having competition for roster spots. There will be battles for places on the team and that will make everyone better.”

All of the Tigers' Spring Football practices are closed to the public.