By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – What a difference a week makes. After a good showing in their first scrimmage of fall camp, the Tennessee Tech football team put together a much improved effort on the field on Sunday.
While there's still some kinks to work out, there was still plenty for head coach Dewayne Alexander to be happy about.
"They flew around well and did some really nice things," Alexander said. "We did a lot of good things, but we still have some things to work on. The good news is that we didn't play today, but we do before too long on Aug. 30. There's still a lot of things to get corrected, but we are moving in the right direction. We worked on a lot more situational things, some special teams things. There were a few guys we held out so we could get some of the younger guys some reps to see who could help us going into the first week."
Deven Sullivan scored on the first drive of the day, scoring from four yards out. Tech's defensive units then put together some great stops, resulting in seven drives with nothing to show for the offense. Brian Thompson picked off a pass, while Andrew Swicegood and Chris Tucker came away with sacks.
"Our first team defense did some great things today," Alexander said. "They made some nice stops, and probably the biggest improvement from the first scrimmage to today was the play of our defense."
However, the offense started rolling as David Gist and Jayden Bowman each started picking up yardage on the ground. Bowman ended the day with eight carries for 38 yards and a touchdown, while Gist had nine carries for 45 yards as well as a catch for six yards.
"We brought Jayden in after the injury to Heath Rexroat, who was playing very well," Alexander said, "Day Day Gist has really done a super job for us. He's looked really good for us during camp. Andrew Goldsmith and Deven Sullivan have been very solid, but they're a little banged up so we wanted to rest them some today. They got a little work, but our running backs have had a really good fall camp as have our tight ends. Our offensive line is getting better.
"We've been taking care of the ball. We've only thrown 4-5 interceptions for the entire camp. We're also making some big plays and that's good to see. We've also got to take care of the procedural things."
Jeremiah Edwards also hauled in two touchdown passes – a 31-yarder from Adam Browner and a nine-yard strike from Cade Smith. Sullivan also scored his second touchdown of the day on a direct snap to him, scoring from two yards out.
Nick Madonia went 2-for-4 on field goal attempts, hitting from 43 and 42 yards out, while sailing wide left on a 51-yard try and wide right on a 47-yard attempt in the breezy conditions. He was 2-for-2 on point-after attempts, as was Haidar Zaidan.
The scrimmage also served as the first action for Luke Maynard since signing with the Golden Eagles this week. The punter from Australia had some good punts, which will add some versatility to Tech's special teams arsenal.
The Golden Eagles host their final scrimmage on Thursday as part of the Gathering of Eagles. The event is free to the public and starts at 6 p.m.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech football are now on sale. Call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or TTUsports.com to order.
