By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – This time last spring, the Tennessee Tech football team was in its COVID schedule, playing games. Instead of the annual tradition of spring practice where the team had an opportunity to learn and develop players, the team was focused on trying to win an Ohio Valley Conference championship.
So, for the first time since 2019, the Golden Eagles opened its traditional spring practice, the first day in a month's worth of work to try to lead the Tech squad to the OVC title in this centennial celebration season for the Golden Eagles.
"It's great," Tech head coach Dewayne Alexander said. "I've missed spring. This team desperately needed an offseason. We've got young talent on the team, we've got a really good team. We needed an offseason to develop as a team, in the weight room and to develop fundamentally."
As the team ran through drills, it seemed like class was back in session as the team worked like it was in the middle of the season. With the addition of offensive coordinator Wes Satterfield and graduate transfer Jeremiah Oatsvall, the team started to adapt to Satterfield's offensive playbook.
So while the team has plenty of new faces on the roster and in the coaching staff, the Golden Eagles also return several key veterans, such as Josh Reliford and David Gist among many others.
It's hard to call it a new-look Golden Eagles when there are a lot of key returning pieces.
"There's a really good mix," Alexander said. "You have some veteran guys, some guys we missed from injury, some young guys and some transfers. We continue to add to our roster and we're really excited about who we've recruited and we can't wait to have those guys join us this summer. But right now as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Tech football, we've got to find the identity of this team and I like what I've seen so far."
Tech's spring practice slate stretches into mid-April, culminating in the Wings Up Weekend on April 9 with the Letterman's Brunch and team scrimmage, followed by a team cookout.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
