WORCESTER, Mass. - Spring practice is a time for the Holy Cross football team to battle for starting positions and see who will emerge as the next stars for this team. 

It's also a time for new leaders to step up and take the role filled by those fifth-year seniors who just graduated. 

"Yeah you do rely a lot on those leaders," said head coach Bob Chesney. "The good news is that you lose all those fifth-year guys, but that gave these other guys and extra year too, so they're a little bit more mature than they would have been in the past when they had to assume that role. So it's really nice to be able to watch them lead in meetings, lead in the locker room, watch them lead out here and show people the way we're supposed to do things."

"It's definitely a new role that I'm having to step up in," said cornerback Devin Haskins. "I'm embracing it, I like it. It's really just, I have to go out there and elevate people. I just have to take more responsibility."

"A lot of it's picking up where we left off," said center Christo Kelly. " It's urgency, attention to detail, it's really getting everybody aligned on the same mission."

The Crusaders play their spring game Saturday, April 15.