By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As the Tennessee Tech football team finished the first full week of fall camp, the Golden Eagles closed out Saturday with their first scrimmage.
It was nowhere near perfect – not that was expected this early into camp – but it did give the Golden Eagles an idea where to go next as they continue their preparations for the 2018 campaign.
"We're making a lot of progress," said Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander. "We did a lot of good things, but we still have a lot to do. We threw a lot of situations at them over the last few practices – certain areas of the field, two-minute drills, backed up, red zone, 3rd and long, 3rd and short. There's a lot of stuff we're still installing, and the nature of it – you're throwing a lot of stuff in, after day two or three it starts running together.
"We have a lot of new faces and a lot of new guys out here. But it was much better today. It was a clean scrimmage. There wasn't a lot of turnovers, which was good for the offense. There was certainly more penalties than I'd have liked to see. There were some false starts. It was the first time we've had officials, and we have another two-and-a-half weeks of practice, so we have to hone in on the things we really need to improve on."
Alexander continued, "I did see some big plays on both sides of the ball. We had guys get sacks, some big pass plays, great plays in the run game. We had some hard hits with such good, physical play. The tackling was solid. Overall, for a first scrimmage, there were a lot of positives, but also a lot of things to work on."
Deven Sullivan got the scoring going as he rushed down the sideline for a five-yard touchdown. That was followed up as Luke Ward completed a 42-yard touchdown strike to David Gist. Bailey Fisher got on the scoreboard with a 57-yard touchdown pass to Josh Cunningham, then Adam Browner led a touchdown drive, ending with a 58-yard connection to Tavin Kilpatrick.
Nick Madonia hit a 42-yard field goal, then Sullivan broke away for a 75-yarder from Ward for a score. Heath Rexroat also had a long run for a 60-yard touchdown, before leaving the scrimmage for an injury. Browner also had a long throw into the end zone, which was batted away, but the ball fell into the arms of Cam Singletary for the touchdown.
While the veterans were making some moves, it was the new guys who were making some impressions with big plays.
"That's good to see," Alexander said. "Jeremiah Edwards made some plays, Cam Singletary made some plays, David Gist – a running back from Cookeville – made some fantastic runs. Michael Scavo, a freshman linebacker from Cookeville, made a nice hit. We have some good young guys out here. It was great to see Darrius Stafford back out here. He's been injured and he made some big plays in camp and in practice. Our quarterbacks made some good decisions today and did a nice job of taking care of the ball and executing offensively."
The scrimmage was the next piece of a long, fun day for the team as they opened Saturday with the annual Women's Clinic.
"It was awesome," Alexander said. "A lot of the women who came were either associated with the university – which is awesome to build a fanbase within your own school – and a lot of moms, sisters and aunts of our players. That's awesome to have them around our players and coaches. The clinic was a whole lot of fun this morning. Our players enjoyed having them out here. We've also got a cookout going on out here this afternoon.
"It's the first time we've practiced at 1:30 p.m. and the first time it's really turned out hot. We've had some fall type weather, so it was good to get out here in the heat and we turned out pretty well."
There was also a solid turnout of fans in the Tucker Stadium grandstands, cheering on the Golden Eagles in their first test.
"It's nice," Alexander said. "It's surprising, but it's not surprising to me. I think there's people hungry for it. They want to see our team win. We've got really good young men on our team. There were a lot of parents here today, which was awesome to see. They haven't seen their kids in a week or two. It was nice for them to come today. We have Picture Day tomorrow, so there may be some people in town for that.
"It really was a nice turnout and that's why I want to have it open to the public. I want our guys to have people come in and see our football team. We don't have any secrets or surprises out here. We're going to block, tackle and do all those kinds of things."
Practices continue on Monday morning and are open to the public.
Now it's one more week before the next scrimmage and it's a busy one. The Gathering of Eagles is next Saturday, starting with a kids' clinic, surplus sale and autograph session before the team takes the field again that afternoon.
"The biggest goal is to clean up and get everything installed as far as scheme and those types of things," Alexander said. "Now it's starting to hone in on some things. We'll do some special teams work and we'll make some decisions based off of this scrimmage on solidifying some spots. The two-deep will change and we'll maneuver a little bit. If you're going to do any of that, this is the week to do it. There are just a few things left to put in – short yardage, goal line, some backed-up punt, a few special situations – but outside of that, we're just going to try to improve on what we did this past week and start cutting things down to prepare for Chattanooga."
The Golden Eagles open their season at Chattanooga on Aug. 30 before coming home to Tucker Stadium against Kennesaw State on Sept. 6. Tickets for Tennessee Tech football are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or TTUsports.com to order.
