By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Ninth place. It certainly wasn't the place the Tennessee Tech football team wanted to be in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason polls as they were announced on Monday as part of the league's Football Media Day.

That said, head coach Dewayne Alexander and his players present – sophomore quarterback Bailey Fisher and senior defensive back Shannon Fayne – understood why, but stood determined to prove the naysayers wrong.

It's a new season and the process is still in the early phases, but Alexander was firm in that there are so many who have invested into the Tennessee Tech program and they were all set to produce dividends.

"The reality of it is that's where the program is at right now," Alexander said. "We've had back-to-back 1-10 seasons, so we shouldn't expect to come in here and be picked any different. Whether it's seventh, eighth or ninth, it doesn't matter. It's part of sports and college football and most coaches will tell you that it's not what the preseason polls tell you, it's where the team finishes.

"For us, the main thing is what we think, how our players feel like we're doing and where we're at, where our coaches think we're at. The voters, they aren't at our weight sessions, our team meetings or our practices. We can evaluate more of our progress and the important thing is where we assess ourselves."

While the Golden Eagles appear to have a mountain to climb to sway the prognosticators, Alexander and his players were certainly confident that they will move things in the right direction.

"We don't think we are a last-place team," Alexander said. "We don't feel that way at all. I truly believe every player on our team would look you in the eye and tell you that. These guys will go out there and compete with anybody. I feel that way as a coach and I know our players feel the same way. The preseason teams and the polls, I understand those – they're good for publicity and everything else, but it's the end of the year that's the most important."

As for the poll, Jacksonville State, with five straight OVC championships, was not a surprise at the top, while Southeast Missouri was picked second. Eastern Kentucky and Austin Peay were third and fourth, while Murray State and Tennessee State was tied for fifth. UT Martin took seventh, while Eastern Illinois was picked eighth.

JSU junior quarterback Zerrick Cooper and SEMO senior linebacker Zach Hall were named the league's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

The Golden Eagles showed strides of progress last season despite the overall record, having a chance to claim victory in almost every game last year, barring a couple of tough contests. Tech certainly had room to build on.

"There were a lot of opportunities," Alexander said. "I feel like we have those this year. Murray State came to our place last year and we beat them, then they turned around and beat Southeast Missouri the following week and SEMO made it into the (Football Championship Subdivision) playoffs. Any team can win in any given week. There are some well-coached teams in our league, some very good football teams, and some very good players, but we have good scholarship football players and very good coaches on our staff and we feel like when we line up on Saturdays, we're lining up with a chance to win."

It can be said that the Golden Eagles have a young team, especially with all the freshmen and sophomores on the roster. But that would also be selling the team short, considering that many of them were on the field in the past year, as well as a great group of veterans who have the ability to be game-changers. The proper terminology may preferably be 'young with experience.'

"That's exactly right," Alexander said. "We have a solid group of seniors. They've done a great job of leading this team. They've hung in there and been through a lot. I'm the third coach they've had – at least they've had me for two years in a row. They've stood in and stayed the course. They've bought in. Tennessee Tech football means something to them. They've listened to what we said in the offseason and I'm very pleased with what they've done since then.

"Outside of those seniors, it's going to be a freshman, redshirt freshman or sophomore-heavy team. There will be a lot of them serving in backup roles on the team. The key for our older guys and returning players is to take those young guys under their wing and develop those guys. College football is tough to play with a 12-game schedule and not miss some snaps or part of a game. Backup players have to play, play well and be effective, not just on offense or defense, but also on special teams as well. There's going to be a lot of young guys on the kickoff return team."

Alexander continued, "The good news is our young guys are talented. Their team speed is exponentially better than it was this time last year. We're excited about that and that's going to be key to our success, to have a consistent year and finish off strong. We didn't finish the last two games of the season like we wanted to as injuries played a part in that."

Tech has also developed a new crop of leaders on the team who look to lead the Golden Eagles to new heights.

"Bailey is a great example of that," Alexander said. "He was thrown into the fire last year as a freshman starter and did an outstanding job, earning OVC Freshman of the Year, and watching his development was just astounding.

"Shannon has been a leader in this program and he's one of those guys that comes to work every week, every practice. Regardless of the scoreboard, regardless of the outcome, he's going to be the one that's there every Monday ready to go, to roll his sleeves up and work. He's always been that guy. Obviously, as a senior, Shannon and guys like (linebacker) Aderick Moore want to see the team succeed and have the very best year we can have, but to build the team so when guys like Bailey have their senior years, they've paved the way and see the success they're going to have down the road. They're going to be a big part of that success."

That success could definitely be in the works, especially as the Golden Eagles pulled in the No. 2 recruiting class in the conference, as rated by HERO Sports, as well as the No. 4 receiver in the FCS with Justin Oden.

"That's a great class coming in and I've been impressed with everything I've seen from them so far," Alexander said. "They're very talented and a lot of those guys have the potential to help our football team this fall. We could have anywhere from 13 to 15 of those guys playing significant time, so we're excited about those guys. So far, they're off to a great start."

With the reality of the preseason pick out of the way, the focus is on improving and reclaiming some of the Golden Eagle tradition of championships. To do that, Alexander is focusing on goals.

"We have to get better," he said. "We always have those big picture goals. Every team has those. I have a five-year plan for the program. These guys, Shannon Fayne isn't as worried about the five-year plan as he is this year. To get better is going to be a day-in, day-out thing, and sometimes, looking at the big picture, you lose sight on what's in front of you. You have to work to get better every day, whether it's in the weight room, on the field, individually or as a team. It's that consistent improvement daily that will yield season-long improvement.

"We have realistic goals for the season. The Sergeant York Trophy games – all of those are at home this season as UT Martin, Austin Peay and Tennessee State come to Tucker Stadium. We have the chance to earn the trophy and we'd love to do that. Every week, we just want to get ourselves the chance to win. If we do that consistently, we'll look up and have a pretty good year."

Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information