By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
On Thursday night, Tennessee Tech's night belonged to the fans.
The Golden Eagle football team hosted its annual Gathering of Eagles at Tucker Stadium, giving a preview to the fans on just what they could see on the turf in the fall.
"It was a phenomenal night," Tech head coach Marcus Satterfield said. "We had a tremendous turnout. The energy from the youth clinic to the autograph session, that makes our guys feel good. They love it when all those people want their autographs and they get to meet them.
"They got to come out here and wear their game jerseys for the first time. There were a lot of things that could have distracted a very immature football team, but our kids have worked their way up to this to the point where they're pretty focused. I was really happy to see their attention to detail (Thursday). It didn't really get them off their game. They came out here and competed at a really high level."
The kids clinic is one of the most fun events the team gets to do all season and it showed as the Golden Eagles welcomed their pint-sized counterparts.
"It's fun for our guys after getting yelled at for the last 20 days to get to hang out with some kids," Satterfield laughed, "cute kids that would go hit a tackling dummy and bounce back up with a big smile on their faces. It really helps our guys to feel what gratitude is, helping people, and putting smiles on those kids' faces really meant a lot to them. That will continue to grow. We'll do that again in the spring."
The offense came out for the Golden Eagles as it seemed like Tech was scoring early and scoring often.
"They came out with a lot of energy," Satterfield said. "They had a 'what's next' attitude, and even when they had a couple of bad plays, they came back and created some explosions. It was great to see Michael (Birdsong) make some plays down the field and so accurately. The O-line was challenged to learn how to protect under strain and they did a great job tonight. The defense still had its share of sacks, including two in the red zone situations that knocked us out of field goal range.
"Both sides of the ball showed some flash, but offensively, I think our kids came out with a little bit of swagger and a lot of confidence."
Tech's transfers are still making huge impacts as Birdsong (Marshall), Kip Patton (Temple) and Dontez Byrd (Louisville) continued to make play after play.
"We've done really well so far with our transfers," Satterfield said. "We've taken in some really good kids. Dontez is one of the hardest workers on our team. Michael has been here since June and has been a great worker and leader. Kip's come in and really gelled with the team. He's a phenomenal athlete. Alex Carling's a big kid from Temple who made some great catches tonight and is making a difference at the line of scrimmage.
"We're really proud of our transfers and how they're leading this team. They've stepped in and they haven't acted big-time. They love this team. They love this place. They love Cookeville and I think that says a lot for our team character because our team creates that. They mold you into that mindset of being a great teammate and loving each other. It's been really cool to see."
Tech is continuing to add little touches here and there – Thursday was a helmet raise during kickoffs and punts.
And it all comes down to details.
"That creates energy," Satterfield said. "That creates energy for our kick team. Anything we can do like that to create a spark of energy – and that's all it takes is a spark – we're going to do it. Our kids, you've only got to tell them once what to do. Right now, they're really focusing on those details and getting it done."
The Golden Eagles don't have much time before their next scrimmage as they host their final one on Saturday night at 6 p.m., starting with an Eagle Walk from the Hooper Eblen Center to Tucker Stadium at 3:45 p.m.
Needless to say, the intensity isn't dropping yet, even if the camp is coming into its final days.
"Some of the position coaches were talking about how some of their groups were getting tired," Satterfield said. "We're not letting up. That's how we are going to win championships here because we are going to be tougher than everyone else mentally and physically. They think they're tired now, but they've got so much more in the tank.
"We're not letting up. We'll back off some when we get into game week, but we're going to keep going and keep going as we go into next week. We're going to hit every day. We're going to be physical. We're going to be mentally sharp. We're going to pay attention to the details when it's hot and we're tired. And that, I believe, is going to give us an edge."
