COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After a strong finish to the 2016 season, one could hardly blame Tennessee Tech head football coach Marcus Satterfield and the Golden Eagles to be quick to get back into action.

 

So while most of the campus community is thinking about Valentine's Day, roses and chocolates, the Golden Eagles will be thinking about tackles, kicks and touchdowns as the team begins spring practice on Tuesday.

 

The first session will start at 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning and will run through the NCAA-mandated 15 sessions, ending on Thursday, March 23, which includes time off for the university's spring break.

 

"The time has just flown by," Satterfield said. "The main thing is to try to get it finished as quickly as possible, get in the best work and get better. We made sure we got a four-week cycle in the weight room. We're going to continue to lift through practices as hard as we can, then have a five-week cycle before finals. It's quicker than normal just because we're starting in February, but there's a reason behind it."

 

The schedule includes the following:

Tuesday, Feb. 14 – 7 a.m.

Thursday, Feb. 16 – 7 a.m.

Saturday, Feb. 18 – 3 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 19 – 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 21 – 7 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 24 – 4 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 25 – 3 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 26 – 3 p.m.

Tuesday, Feb. 28 – 7 a.m.

Thursday, March 2 – 7 a.m.

Tuesday, March 14 – 7 a.m.

Thursday, March 16 – 7 a.m.

Saturday, March 18 – 3 p.m.

Tuesday, March 21 – 7 a.m.

Thursday, March 23 – 6:30 p.m.

 

All of the practice sessions are in Tucker Stadium, with the exception of March 23, which is currently scheduled for the practice field by the Hooper Eblen Center.

 

"Offensively, defensively, they've laid out five goals apiece," Satterfield said. "We're just going to focus on that, due to numbers and availability of several guys. As for functional scrimmages, I'm not sure how much of that we're going to be able to do, but we're going to get better at those conceptual goals. We're going to focus on that, whether it means 1-on-1 or 3-on-3, 6-on-5, whatever it is. We're going to come out and be experts on those five goals the offense and defense have."

 

With as early as the spring session is this year, the team is hoping to take some of the momentum the team built at the end of the 2016 season and keep the effort going.

 

"Just the excitement and confidence that the guys have is great," Satterfield said. "The guys understand the process and they know that all they have to do is come and be great citizens and great students and achieve in those two aspects, then come do their job daily -- as well as the assistant coaches and myself -- that their execution and their confidence and their success will continue to grow.

 

"They're just excited to get back on the field after a phenomenal first four weeks with (Director of Athletic Performance) Casey Kramer in the weight room, and hopefully that momentum comes out on the field and we're able to look like a different football team than we did this time last year."