By Thomas Corhern, HERALD-CITIZEN Assistant Sports Editor

COOKEVILLE, Tenn.  – The pads were popping on Saturday at Tucker Stadium as the Tennessee Tech held its first spring practice session in pads.

"There were some ups and downs," said Tech football head coach Marcus Satterfield. "I thought the energy was pretty good consistently through the practice. (Friday) We challenged them because there were too many lulls and not enough energy. We know we're not going to be perfect from a fundamental point in practice, but we can control the things like energy and physicality. We've got a ways to go from assignment football."

Of course, the first day of pads is always an exciting one for football teams.

"It's awesome," Satterfield said. "We got to tackle and go live in a few periods and bring people to the ground. It helps the running backs because we can see what they can do as far as yards after contact and whether they can make yards. We saw some great things (Saturday), and after we watch film, we should be able to clear up the depth chart some. We had some players make some great plays, so that was really good to see."

Click here to continue reading about Saturday's football practice.

Photo by Thomas Corhern, Herald Citizen