COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the first day of spring practice in the books, the Tennessee Tech football team was in such high spirits, one might have confused the February practice for one in late October and early November.

 

But as spring practice opened, the Golden Eagles were excited, energetic and ready to work.

 

"It was great to be back out here after an awesome period in the weight room and with mat drills," said Tech head coach Marcus Satterfield. "With the confidence the kids drew from how we finished last season, I think they were all anxious to get back out here. You could feel the energy. The coaches were fired up. It's all about attention to detail and that really showed today.

 

"It's amazing what a difference a year makes. We don't look like the Bad News Bears now. We're a functional team, which is a good thing, but we're still a long way from where we want to be. I think we have a chance, if our coaches continue to coach the way they did with the attention to detail and getting our kids to buy in that practice is everything, we've got a chance at getting better."

 

With the first week underway, the goals are simple.

 

"The first thing is attention to detail," Satterfield said. "We have to understand exactly why we're doing things with the deliberate way we play offense and defense – there's a method to the madness. If our coaches can come out and coach the way they did today, then we're going to have a great first five or six practices, which is crucial for us moving forward."'

 

Even though almost every player out on the field is a returning player from last season, spring drills are still about learning – and there's a few new wrinkles in the mix.

 

"They've had some great mental sessions the last 10-12 days," Satterfield said. "They're learning what we're doing. We've changed a lot of the things we've done and the terminology back to what he had at Temple, so they've had to learn some new things as far as the new protections and the new identifications. They've really picked up on it. Defensively, you can tell that they're in year two. Coach (Shawn) Quinn has done an unbelievable job of teaching them formations and why they're doing certain things. It's just really cool to see it all come together out here on the field."

 

The Golden Eagles continue their spring drills on Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at Tucker Stadium.