By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – There's one thing that Tennessee Tech head football coach Dewayne Alexander is trying to get through to his players – be prepared for anything.
With a track resurfacing project going on in Tucker Stadium as the facility prepares to host the Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May, the football team has had to move its practices from its home site.
On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles took up shop on Sherlock Park, flanked by academic buildings and students coming to and from classes, as Tech continued its 2018 spring practices. The Golden Eagles are expected to use Sherlock Park several more times in the schedule, as well as the Athletic Performance Center on days with inclement weather in the forecast, such as the projection on Thursday and Friday.
But as the Golden Eagles took to the Sherlock Park sod on Tuesday, practice almost felt like a game of backyard football.
"It really was," Alexander laughed. "We're really appreciative of the opportunity to use the venue, and it turned out great. It was a little muddy and a little wet, but, like we told our guys, football is very unique. You don't get three-game series, a five-game series, a home-and-home or a tournament at the end of the season. You get the opportunity to play every team on your schedule one time, whether it's raining or muddy. We may play at Tennessee State and the field may turn out to be a lot worse than this depending on the weather. You have to learn how to handle that and deal with the adversity of it.
"The good news of it was our guys were all here on time, the spirit was good. There was a little bit of slipping and sliding because of the turf, but we did a lot of team today. We had a little bit of a live scrimmage today with a full-contact, full-tackle thing, just to get a chance to get it on tape because Thursday and Friday are starting to look like we could end up inside in the APC to practice with the weather coming in."
Alexander continued, "Overall, it was a good day. We've had five very productive days of practice to this point."
And he can't help but feel positive about the direction after the first week of practice has been completed.
"It's all about the little details," Alexander said. "These guys – they're practicing hard, they're very attentive, very coachable. We've really only had one incident where we've really had to get on somebody to do the bare minimum of things you ask them to do. They've done a really nice job of being where they're supposed to be, being at meetings, being at practice. There are things that are different for them, obviously – the terminology is different on both sides of the ball – but they've been outstanding.
"The attitude has been good, the work has been good, the coaches have been very detailed and organized. There has been a lot of good teaching going on, which is what the spring is all about -- teaching and fundamentals. We're trying to identify whether we have these guys in the right spot, should they be on offense or defense, should he be a tackle or a guard, an inside receiver or an outside receiver – those kinds of things. So far, it's been a very good first week."
Tech's spring practice runs through April 17, with a spring game event scheduled for April 14. All practices are open to the public and the schedule and locations are subject to change.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech football are now on sale. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or TTUsports.com to order or for more information.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
