By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
Photos from Saturday's scrimmage
VIDEO: Interview with associate head coach Tyree Foreman and quarterback Michael Birdsong
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech's final scrimmage of fall camp went exactly as the Golden Eagles hope to end many of their games – kneeling in victory formation.
And it's not that Tech is getting ahead of itself. It's because the Golden Eagles are practicing everything, making sure every little detail is accounted for.
After all, as first-year head coach Marcus Satterfield reminded his players over and over during the camp, everything counts.
"We want to practice every formation," said Tyree Foreman, associate head coach and running backs coach for the Golden Eagles. "Really, situational football helps you win games and we coach those situations very hard. Our kids buy into it. The most important play in football is victory formation, because that's the best play in football."
But as the final scrimmage went on, the Golden Eagles were looking pretty good.
"I think we operated smoothly tonight," said Foreman. "We're getting into game tempo and game shape. We're operating the game plan on both sides of the ball very well. The defense made a lot of plays and the offense was moving the ball up and down the field. Overall, I think it was a pretty good scrimmage."
Quarterback Michael Birdsong added, "I thought it went a lot better than last week's scrimmage. We didn't make as many procedure penalties. The defense played well. The offense played better. Everything was just a lot better and that's all we can ask for – just get better."
The tandem of quarterback Birdsong and receiver Dontez Byrd continued to impress as the pair hooked up for a couple of touchdown passes during the scrimmage. The Marshall-James Madison and Louisville transfers look almost as if they have played together for a long time.
"They're explosive," Foreman said. "Dontez is a very explosive kid and does a lot of things for us. If we can give Michael time, he can pick apart defenses very well. He's a guy we think has a shot at the next level. Those are things we expect from those two, and hopefully we see it all year."
Birdsong continued, "Yeah, it's crazy. We both just transferred in at the same time and we're both right out here on this field working, throwing routes. A lot of times it was just me and him out here and it's starting to show what kind of connection we have."
With a lot of new faces on the offense, the newcomers seem to be picking the schemes up well.
"A lot of us came in early in the summer," Birdsong said. "Dontez, myself, Alex (Carling), Kip (Patton) just got here, but his offense was very similar to this. I know we've all been working on this all summer long."
The Tech defense also had a good night, forcing a safety and picking off a pair of passes.
"The defense stepped up really well," Foreman said. "They had two turnovers in the red zone that kept us off the board and they had some big plays in open field which kept us from getting the critical first downs we needed. The defense is really growing and they showed tonight that they're getting one step closer."
Camp officially wraps up today as the university begins its academic year on Monday. Then the work begins toward the season opener on Sept. 1 as the Golden Eagles host Wofford.
From there, the goal is simple.
"The national championship," Birdsong said. "That's it. That's the only goal we've been talking about. It's the only goal we want. We're setting our standards high and we're going to get it."
