August 26, 2024
Golden Eagle Football taking fresh start under Wilder's direction
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It’s probably a little cliché when a new coach comes into a program and it’s suddenly declared a ‘new era.’ With the direction Bobby Wilder looks to take the Tennessee Tech football team, however, it is the literal truth. With the ever-changing landscape of college football, as well as the transfer portal and Name-Image-Likeness deals, the game is not the same as it was even 10 years ago.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It's probably a little cliché when a new coach comes into a program and it's suddenly declared a 'new era.' With the direction Bobby Wilder looks to take the Tennessee Tech football team, however, it is the literal truth.
With the ever-changing landscape of college football, as well as the transfer portal and Name-Image-Likeness deals, the game is not the same as it was even 10 years ago.
Things are shifting and changing all the way to the foundations of Tech Football. Even venerable Tucker Stadium is undergoing a metamorphosis as the West stands are being demolished and rebuilt for an expected 2026 relaunch.
As Wilder said in a recent speech, Tennessee Tech is entering the modern era.
That's not to say that history isn't important. The Golden Eagles have the most Ohio Valley Conference championships of any active member. However, the reality of the situation is that the Golden Eagles have only won one conference football title after 1975, claiming the crown in 2011 – and even that is 13 years ago.
If Wilder, Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson and University President Phil Oldham have anything to say about it, that's all about to change.
"Tennessee Tech has not been good in football for a very long time," Wilder said at the recent Chamber of Commerce Business Before Hours event for local business leaders. "How do you change that? Well, there's a process to it. You can't just talk about it, you can't just say what you're going to do. Everybody has to be involved in the process and that's what we as coaches, players and administration are working on.
"The process to winning is this – every day from the moment our feet hit the floor in the morning til our heads hit the pillow at night, it's all about planning, preparation and execution. Too many times in life, people make predictions that they can't back up, so every single day, our focus is that. There's a plan for what we're doing. We plan it, we prepare it and we execute it."
Wilder is also no stranger to rebuilding programs. He restarted an Old Dominion program that had not played a game in 69 years, leading the Monarchs to a 9-2 record – the best for a first-year NCAA program in college football's modern era. He led ODU to a 46-14 mark in the Football Championship Subdivision before the Monarchs made the jump to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
In 2016, Wilder guided ODU to a victory in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl to cap off a 10-3 season. He finished his career at Old Dominion with a 77-56 record, 67-30 in his first eight seasons.
It wasn't entirely starting from scratch. The Golden Eagles retained Sam Williamson and Brandon Blackmon from the previous coaching staff as the Tech defense ranked first in the Big South-OVC in several categories.
From there, Wilder gathered a talented staff who have brought other programs to national prominence on the FCS level and beyond, giving the Tech players the tools to succeed in the upcoming season.
Having to hit the ground running, Wilder and his staff then scoured the transfer portal. Think of the Oakland A's and Moneyball – both the book and film. The goal was finding value in what each student-athlete brought to the roster. Through their efforts, Tech brought in 32 players from the transfer portal through all levels of the game with players from the Power Four conferences, the Group of Five, FCS, all the way down to NAIA and JUCOs, then even an international player or two.
On the other end of the spectrum, Tech had 56 players who stayed and have bought in to the new way of Golden Eagle life. At the end of the day, these Golden Eagles want to win and are willing and ready to put in the work.
It is not surprising that a lot of the returning players come in on the defense, especially with the success they had there this past season. Safety Tim Coutras, defensive end Daniel Rickert and linebacker Aaron Swafford all had all-conference seasons last year and should be in prime position to do the same in 2024. Coutras, a preseason All-America selection by Stats Perform and PhilSteele.com, had 55 tackles and four interceptions. Swafford led the team with 72 tackles, while Rickert had 49 tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss and nine sacks.
With those three anchoring the Golden Eagle defense, they were excellent selections for team captains.
The situation is a bit different on offense. Tech did return quarterback Jordyn Potts from last season, who had a great freshman campaign with 1,132 passing yards and eight aerial scores. However, very few rushers and receivers return from 2024. Potts and Torin Baker were the two leading returning rushers, while tight ends Hunter Barnhart and Reece Perkins are the top returning receivers from last year.
That's where the transfer portal came in handy. Seven wide receivers on the Golden Eagle roster were at different schools last season with J.D. Dixon (Bethel), Tremel Jones (Wingate), D.J. Linkins (New Hampshire), Jay Parker (Western Illinois) and Luke Shields (Virginia Tech).
Offensive captain Jordan Yates spent time as a quarterback at Georgia Tech before transferring to FCS power Sam Houston State and transitioning to a wideout. There's also an exciting legacy player in Mekhi Penix, the son of Tech rushing legend Michael Penix and the brother of phenom QB Michael Penix Jr., who is now with the Atlanta Falcons.
With Potts and Missouri transfer Dylan Laible at quarterback, they certainly have a wealth of targets.
Laible is also an interesting pickup for the Golden Eagles. Stuck down the depth chart at Missouri with a talented arm ahead of him, Laible proved his worth at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, leading the prestigious JUCO program to a national championship appearance.
In the backfield, Kyron Cumby (Delaware), Jalen Mitchell (Louisville and UConn), and Obie Sanni (Old Dominion) bring a lot of experience, while Baker and Jordan Harris return to give a lot of options on the run game.
A familiar face is back for the Golden Eagles on kicking duties as Hayden Olsen returns for another campaign. Olsen ended last season with 90 straight PATs in his career to stay perfect and stands just 10 away from tying the OVC record for consecutive PATs made.
The season opens Saturday as the Golden Eagles head to traditional rival Middle Tennessee. While Tech has only played the Blue Raiders once since they bolted for greener pastures in the Football Bowl Subdivision, there's still a lot of bad blood between the two fan bases who remember a lot of heated contests in the long-time rivalry.
The difficulty ramps up even more on Sept. 7 as the Golden Eagles take on Southeastern Conference power Georgia, who ESPN had as No. 1 in the country in its latest power rankings.
Following an open date, Tech opens the Big South-OVC – and home -- slate on Sept. 21 at Tucker Stadium. The Golden Eagles head to Gardner-Webb on Sept. 28, then return home Oct. 5 for a visit from South Carolina State.
Tech hits the road for a pair of conference contests at Southeast Missouri (Oct. 12) and Western Illinois (Oct. 19), then hosts Charleston Southern (Oct. 26) and Lindenwood for Homecoming (Nov. 2). After the final two road games of the year at Samford (Nov. 9) and UT Martin (Nov. 16), the Golden Eagles close out the regular season with a visit from Eastern Illinois.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech football are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
