By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
Andre Sale has always found a way to roll with the punches and adapt when the situation calls for it.
Even from a young age, the Tech quarterback has been able to do that, moving from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to Little Rock, Arkansas, as a child following Hurricane Katrina.
But all he ever wanted was a chance to prove himself, one that he's getting now as a redshirt freshman, starting behind center for the Golden Eagles.
Through the first three games of the season, Sale has already started to make a name for himself, even if the overall record is not where the team wants it to be. Sale has kept the Golden Eagles competitive and as the most important part of the schedule begins – Ohio Valley Conference play – he is determined to be the best he can be.
As a child, Sale and his family lived in Baton Rouge, but had to uproot following the devastation from Hurricane Katrina. However, it gave the family a new start.
"I was in second grade," Sale said. "Our house wasn't actually destroyed by the hurricane; it was my dad's work that moved us up to Little Rock, Arkansas. It was a choice of Little Rock and Memphis, and we chose Little Rock. We were familiar with the area and it was a good place to raise kids, so it was a no-brainer for us. I loved it growing up in Little Rock."
Sale was also able to flourish as a football player there. While playing for Catholic High School, he completed 347 of his 587 passes for 4,362 yards and 39 touchdowns, and also ran 143 times for 845 yards and 10 touchdowns. He was named to the Arkansas Class 7A all-state first team.
"We played in 7A, so it was against the top competition," Sale said. "Little Rock is a bigger city, so there were a lot of schools with a lot of competitive quarterbacks in the area that I got to compete and train with. I definitely feel like I got a lot better because of that background."
His family in Little Rock has probably been his greatest inspiration.
"My dad with how much he loves me," Sale said. "He did so much to help me get here. He comes to every game. Just being able to look up in the stands and see his face just inspires me. I've never taken a play off, because I don't want to let him down."
Sale was one of head coach Marcus Satterfield's first signing class with the Golden Eagles, but even then, playing time wasn't a guarantee – especially with the other players that came in or were still in place from the previous regime.
With so many people to compete against, Sale took the challenge to heart. However, the toughest challenger – Marshall transfer Michael Birdsong – may have become Sale's greatest inspiration.
"I was thrilled to have him here," Sale said. "At first, I didn't like him – I wanted to be THE guy. After he won me over, he won the team over. He was tough and such a great leader, I just kind of took a back seat and tried to learn from him. I realized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn from a guy like Michael Birdsong. I learned a lot from him – how he handles himself on a day-to-day basis, how he leads. He really captured the team."
The biggest lesson Sale learned, however, was Birdsong's ability to inspire his teammates as the senior helped the Golden Eagles gel late in the season and led Tech to a third-place finish last year in the Ohio Valley Conference race.
Birdsong's numbers alone – 2,577 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and a 216-for-346 passing effort, as well as 2,803 yards of total offense – stand as the best season in Tennessee Tech history as a quarterback, but it wouldn't have happened without becoming a leader, an inspiration to his teammates.
"He had total control of the offense at all times," Sale said. "He had everyone's respect. Whether you liked him or not, you respected him as a human and as a quarterback."
As the spring of 2017 rolled around, there was more competition than ever. The Golden Eagles had a stable of quarterbacks, all trying to compete for the starting job. Sale wasn't going to let the opportunity pass by.
"I knew what I could do and I had a pretty good spring," he said. "I was very confident with what I could do with the offense, so I stayed confident with my abilities. I knew if I trusted the process, the cream would rise to the top and I'd be able to lead the offense."
However, late in the spring, the name Hayden Rettig started to be brought up. A Rutgers graduate who had spent some time at LSU, while also having a brother playing at Boston College, Rettig, on paper, seemed like a lock.
Sale wasn't worried. He wasn't even fazed.
Sale just maintained the blue-collar atmosphere Satterfield wants from his players. He showed up every day and went to work.
If he was going to earn the starting job, it was going to take hard work and dedication.
"Hayden, Adam Browner, Luke Ward – they all pushed me," Sale said. "And there were days where they outplayed me. I'd have to come in and reevaluate myself to get better, watch film and my footwork and how I threw the ball.
"I was probably the least athletic of the four guys, so I just had to do all the little things right."
One of the other many facets to Satterfield's process is that it encourages the student-athletes to compete, to get better, to become the best student-athlete they can become, on or off the field.
"Definitely," Sale said. "He does a great job of holding us accountable and making sure that each of us is doing the best that we can do. I want to be the best Andre Sale that I can be today. He holds me accountable to that."
As the first depth chart of the season was released, all the hard work was starting to pay off. As the quarterbacks were listed, the chart read Hayden Rettig OR Andre Sale.
It may not read as much, but for the redshirt freshman, that was a major victory.
The coaches believed in him.
The team believed in him.
And before long, the fans were going to believe in him.
As the night of August 31 rolled around and the game against Western Illinois was getting set to begin, Sale was focused.
"I knew I was going to be the starter," Sale said. "I was very confident going in. During warmups, they told me to expect Hayden to play some too. I was like, 'OK.' It actually took a lot of pressure off me and I knew I could just go out there and play and not really have to worry about anything. It was an equal opportunity, I felt. I was just going to make the most of it."
While it was a slow start against the Leathernecks, Sale had a solid game, completing 11 of his 22 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. He was intercepted once, sacked twice and lost a fumble, but for a redshirt freshman, it wasn't a bad start at all.
When the Golden Eagles made the trip to Kennesaw State the following week, it was official. Sale was the guy.
"Honestly, nothing changed," Sale said. "The players and the coaches told me they had total confidence in me, so I was just able to go out there and play my game and played a little loose."
Out of the nearly a thousand games played in Golden Eagle football history, Sale's game against the Owls was the 24th best yardage game, throwing for 297 yards. He threw to an incredible 13 different receivers in the contest, including six players who caught their first career pass.
"I trust everyone who's out there on the field with me," Sale said. "If they're in the right spots, I'm going to get them the ball. It just shows the depth we have and how good as a whole our receiver corps is."
But when Sale has a talented group of receivers to throw to, it does make things a lot less stressful.
"Dontez Byrd is the best receiver in the nation," Sale said. "Darrius Stafford -- we can't wait for him to be back -- is one of the fastest guys in our conference and Hunter Coleman's really been coming along too. We have some great guys. They're going to make plays – I just have to get the ball in their hands."
And it all seems to come back around full circle. Recently, against Football Bowl Subdivision foe Ball State, Sale showed some Michael Birdsong-esque toughness as he stayed cool in the pocket, shrugged off some big hits and made some fantastic plays as he led the Golden Eagles to their best showing against an FBS team in 27 years.
Getting to play against competition like that is important to anyone who suits up in the Purple and Gold – Sale being no exception.
"It's definitely important," Sale said. "I always dreamed about playing Division I college football, so (getting to play against the higher-tier teams) was like a dream come true for us. We wish we could have come out on top. I mean, we could have. We didn't play as well as we could have, but we played hard and that's what kept us in the game. But we'll definitely be ready next time to not make the same mistakes."
Sale has built himself up, following Satterfield's process.
"He's taught me everything about competitiveness and toughness," Sale said. "I compete in everything I do now. If it's just getting up and brushing my teeth, I want to be the best at it. You know, that's brought my game, as a whole, to a new level. Everything I do, it means something to me. I want to play harder than anyone else in the OVC, I want to be the best out of everybody. It all comes down to the competitive edge that he pushes us to and the toughness he holds me to."
In sports, it's hard not to draw comparisons. However, comparing the stats between Sale and Birdsong in their first three games has to leave the Golden Eagle program feeling excited.
Through his first three games in 2016, Birdsong completed 64 of his 91 passes for 735 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. His pass efficiency was 155.54 and he averaged 229.3 yards per game as the Golden Eagles faced Wofford, Austin Peay and Mercer.
For Sale, he has completed 61 of his 98 passes for 759 yards with four touchdowns and five interceptions. His pass efficiency is 130.57 and averages 236.3 yards of total offense with contests against FCS No. 25 Western Illinois, Kennesaw State and FBS Ball State.
Considering that Birdsong put together the best passing season in program history, Sale's numbers are looking to continue that pace.
And there's still the realization that Sale is just a redshirt freshman, meaning his best seasons could still be to come.
"I'll definitely be able to improve by being calmer," Sale said. "By seeing the whole field. Everything is just going so fast to me right now, but it's been slowing down week-by-week. I know I'm going to be able to make the right checks, the right plays and the coaches are going to be able to put more of a load on me. I want that to happen. Everything's just going fast right now.
"Coach Satt does a great job of giving us a game plan where I can slow it down and giving me easy throws and easy checks. I'm hoping that I can get to the point where I'm more of a coach on the field as time goes on."
The biggest question is probably how much confidence has Sale gotten from his first snap as a starter. Looking at the numbers, the answer is obviously a lot.
"I had never played college football before, so when I took that first snap against Western Illinois, I was swimming," Sale said. "After I got my first couple of completions, I got my feet on the ground and realized that this was just like practice. I just have to go out there and trust my technique, take the correct drops, make the correct reads. It's just what I've been doing my whole life.
"The guys all have my back and I have theirs. I know when I mess up, they might get on to me, but I know it's because they want me to be the best. I can't take that personally. We're all pushing each other to the same goal."
With the OVC slate now under way, that goal is simple – win their 11th league championship and earn a berth to the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.
"We want to continue to get better," Sale said. "We've done that each and every week, so we're going to be that team that plays the hardest every week. We're going to prepare better than anyone else. We're going to work harder than everyone every day. The games will take care of themselves."
Photos by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
