Golden Eagles get things started in fall camp
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The first day of fall camp for the Tennessee Tech football team is in the books and the Golden Eagles have a lot to be excited about. There’s a preseason No. 1 projection in the OVC-Big South and a lot of accolades for the team’s student-athletes. Earlier on Monday, the Golden Eagles were picked No. 21 in the first Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll of the year. That’s all nice and good, though, as Tech’s roster appreciates the awards and attention. But it doesn’t mean anything to them if they don’t back it up on the field.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The first day of fall camp for the Tennessee Tech football team is in the books and the Golden Eagles have a lot to be excited about.
There's a preseason No. 1 projection in the OVC-Big South and a lot of accolades for the team's student-athletes. Earlier on Monday, the Golden Eagles were picked No. 21 in the first Stats Perform FCS Top 25 poll of the year.
That's all nice and good, though, as Tech's roster appreciates the awards and attention. But it doesn't mean anything to them if they don't back it up on the field.
With the players taking to the Tucker Stadium turf on Monday, the physical atmosphere during the day's session showed they have taken that to heart. They don't just want to win – they want to dominate.
"I'm very excited with the progress this team has made throughout the summer," said Tech head coach Bobby Wilder. "They have trained really hard for the eight weeks over the summer. We currently have 118 players here and I'm very excited about the depth we have created, not only from the players that have returned but the players we have recruited from the portal and high schools. It was a very good start for us today."
While the team isn't fully in pads just yet, there was still a great deal of physicality on the field. The effort showed that these Golden Eagles want to compete every play.
"I was pleased with the execution," Wilder said. "It's what you're always looking for as a head coach in the first practice. We executed well in all three phases – our special teams drills we introduced today, our offense and our defense.
"There's a big emphasis on this team because there is depth. There's going to be some battles for these guys to get on the travel team. I emphasized to them today that the quickest way for them to get on the travel team is through special teams. I like the fact that there is tremendous competition at every position right now and that's going to make us a better football team."
The first week of football camp always has a little bit of a learning curve, especially when there's a few new faces trying to grasp the concepts and build rapport with their teammates and coaches.
"You're trying to build familiarity with players, especially the new players," Wilder said. "We added 16 new players through the portal in the spring. We just added 18 high school players, so there are 34 players who are having their first experiences with what they're supposed to do in our system. Learning those players and trying to find their spots on the depth chart is the first step. Our philosophy is that everybody matters or nobody matters, so we're trying to find roles for all 118 players.
"As we learned last year, when we got healthy towards the end of the year, we won our last five games. They learned how to take care of their health, take care of their recovery. All of those things are important to be introduced at the start of training camp."
While there is a good amount of new faces, there's also a valuable wealth of expertise coming back for the Golden Eagles.
"This is my 34th year in coaching and I've never had a team as veteran as this team is," Wilder said. "We have 40 seniors on this roster and where that really helps is when you introduce something new, they can handle it.
"Those veteran guys can help the younger guys. I've seen them leading the younger guys, coaching them, talking across the ball to each other to help each other learn the scheme and system. Having a veteran team is definitely an advantage for us."
Camp practice continues this week and throughout the month at Tucker Stadium. The first scrimmage session is this Saturday at 10 a.m.
The Golden Eagles open the season on August 30 against Cumberland for the first of seven home games this season at Tucker Stadium as Tech looks to win the OVC-Big South title outright.
Season tickets for Golden Eagle Football are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
