By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech senior defensive back Shannon Fayne knows the twilight of his collegiate career is drawing close. In his fourth season with the Golden Eagles, he's seen highlights and low points, but now he aims to close out his career by building not just a legacy, but also a blueprint for future success for Tech football.

And to do that, the senior from Nashville, Tenn., knows he has to help his team find ways to put notches in the win column.

"We want to win," Fayne said. "We, as a senior class, want to see just what we can leave behind for our teammates. You always want to leave a place better than you found it and that's our biggest goal, to set the stage and set it off from there."

Fayne assessed his teammates during the Ohio Valley Conference Football Media Day event on Monday and the veteran Golden Eagle definitely sees the team on an upswing.

It's a wonder what a year can make. In 2018, the Tennessee Tech defensive unit had to overcome injuries and lack of depth in several spots. Now entering the 2019 campaign, the Golden Eagles have veteran leadership throughout the defense and look to improve on its numbers from a season ago.

"I'm excited," Fayne said. "The secondary is getting right where we want, the linebacker corps is going to be a lot more comfortable than they were last year. Our defensive line is real strong. I couldn't be more excited there.

"On offense, we've been working some 7-on-7s and I really like what I see on the other side. I have a lot of confidence in what our offense is doing and their ability to make plays. We have a lot of playmakers on that side of the ball, so I can't wait to get out there and get things started."

There's no question Tech lost some key pieces on defense, such as linebackers Josh Poplar and Jake Warwick, defensive back Deontay Wilson and defensive end Tim Collins – the former three serving among the team's top five tacklers. But the Golden Eagles also return some key pieces too, including Fayne, defensive back Dami Adekunjo and linebacker Aderick Moore, who missed significant time in 2018 to injury.

"Aderick had a great sophomore campaign, so we're thrilled to have him back," Fayne said. "On the defensive line, we've got some great freshmen coming in. Jale'n Gladney, I'm really expecting him to step up and have a great season this year. I really believe we've got some great talent on defense."

There's no question the statistics weren't kind to the Golden Eagle defense last season. Tech was outscored 507 to 198, bolstered by 70-point outbursts by Southeast Missouri and Football Bowl Subdivision foe Utah State, a team that torched many offenses last season. The numbers were also skewed by what proved to be an extremely difficult schedule, whether it was powerful offenses in the league, as well as one of the top triple-option threats in the Football Championship Subdivision with Kennesaw State.

Those setbacks proved to be valuable education for Fayne and his fellow defenders as they look to build from what they learned and improve their efforts.

"It was tough going against those teams," Fayne said, "but a lot of those stemmed from mistakes that we made. Last year, our linebacker corps was pretty young (anchored by Poplar, who was being limited in minutes himself after returning from missing the 2017 season with a stroke and a hole in his heart repaired), so those mistakes were going to happen. When those happen, you get exposed. It was on us more than anything."

Having a strong veteran group returning will also help that effort.

"That's really important," Fayne said. "The biggest aspect of that is leadership. I truly believe we have one of the best leadership corps since I've been here. With that group in place, it's just going to help take these young guys to another level. They're going to see how we work and I hope it will pass along to them."

But, at the end of the day, it all comes down to one thing – finding a way to win.

"Personally, my biggest goal is to win at all costs," Fayne said. "It's not just the team goal, but my personal goal. I just want to win. That's all I want to do. I want to go out there, play ball and win. I really want to earn a first-team all-OVC spot, aiming for 80 tackles and 3-plus turnovers, but it's not about the stats. Those are nice, but I'd rather see us get the wins."

There's no question that Fayne and so many other players are bought in, invested in what the Tech coaches aim to do. It's not difficult to get behind them, especially when they know that those same coaches are in the same shoes, invested into Tennessee Tech and Cookeville because they played there, coached there and found Tech and Cookeville as home.

"You see just how much it means to them," Fayne said. "That makes it mean a lot to us. Two weeks ago, we had the Tech Football Alumni Reunion and Golf Classic and it was amazing. The energy was just off the charts. You're seeing all these guys who came back, guys who played from the '60s, '70s, '80s and on.

"They came back and this place, this program, it just means so much to them. That just pushes you even more. Aiming for success, it's not just for us. It's for those guys before us and the guys who are waiting behind us for their chance."

Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information