GAME NOTES | AUDIO | VIDEO
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Camp and workouts are over. As the Tennessee Tech football team loads up the busses for Thursday's season opener at No. 6-ranked Furman, the Golden Eagles begin a new campaign ready to improve and work toward a Big South-OVC championship.
Everything starts Thursday night at 6 p.m. Central.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Pete Yanity and Jay Sonnhalter handling the broadcast, while the game can be heard locally on 98.5 KISS FM with Roger Ealey and Dylan Vazzano on the call.
The No. 6-ranking in front of Furman's name can be a bit discouraging, but Tech has defeated teams ranked higher than that in the poles, including a victory over No. 4 Jacksonville State to close out the 2010 campaign.
As the Golden Eagles head to Greenville, Tech's planning on coming back to Cookeville with a victory.
Tech is 1-2 all-time against the Paladins, winning the first meeting in 1975 17-5. Furman won 17-7 in 1976, then the Paladins won 26-0 in the last meeting during the 2021 campaign.
While there are still some holdovers from that last meeting, the Golden Eagle lineup looks dramatically different. With Brad Clark, Hunter Barnhart, Metrius Fleming and Willie Miller ready to handle the aerial assault with quarterbacks Ethan Roberts and Hayes Gibson, the Tech offense will also see some new legs from Montana transfer running back Marcus Knight, who put together awesome numbers with the Grizzlies and looks to do the same with Jayvian Allen.
Up front, Trevor Stephens, Ellis Adams, Nate Hodnett and Logan Weedman bring some continuity from the close of last season, with Wes Delk, Christian Thomas, Allen Arriaga, Elijah Ruiz, Jaiden Lee-Brinkman, Nason Simmons and Ryan Hacker giving the offensive line some size and talent. Tech had success there as the Golden Eagles put together one of its best seasons in total offensive yardage and had its fewest number of sacks allowed since the onset of the 21st century.
On the defensive side, the frontline continues to look strong with Daniel Rickert, Kail Dava, Jacorrian Wrenn, Hudson Tucker, Devin Squires, Ethan McLaurin, Myles Parker and A.J. Crawford there. Dava, a Big South/OVC Preseason Player to Watch, was also recently selected by the Canadian Football League as a Top 20 draft prospect.
While Tech will miss Seth Carlisle at linebacker and Josh Reliford at defensive back, the Golden Eagles aren't lacking at either spot as new defensive coordinator Adam Braithwaite has several weapons at his disposal. At linebacker, Jacquez McGowan had a fantastic freshman year to garner an OVC All-Newcomer team nod last season and will pair up with Aaron Swafford, Slayde Simmons, Angel Garcia and Cayman Spaulding.
At corner, Cameron Hudson and Nyquan Washington bring in plenty of experience, adding in Presbyterian and Wofford transfer Okachi Emmanwori and Caleb Nichols for his second campaign. Jyron Gilmore is another defensive weapon at nickel, then transfers Tim Coutras and Jackson Price join Cole Putnam and Gerald Kilgore to lead the way at safety.
Hayden Olsen, who tied Nick Madonia's 66-consecutive PAT streak in the season finale last year against North Carolina Central, will continue to handle kicking duties, while punter Nick Bigelow was named the Big South/OVC's preseason watch list.
Furman will be led by graduate quarterback Tyler Huff, who was named preseason All-Southern Conference after being a dual rushing and passing threat. He'll have some options with preseason All-SoCon picks in wide receiver Joshua Harris, who had five touchdowns and 667 yards on 48 catches last season, and running back Dominic Roberto, a Peyton Award watch-lister who ran for 1,120 yards and 11 TDs a year ago.
Defense is always a key for Furman, and with six defensive picks to the SoCon preseason team with defensive end Jack Barton, defensive tackle Matt Sochovka, nose guard Sirod Cook, cornerback Travis Blackshear, strong safety Kam Brinson and free safety Hugh Ryan, there's a reason why the Paladins have had success there.
Following the opener at Furman, the Golden Eagles will head to New Mexico next week to take on the Lobos in Tech's annual foray against a Football Bowl Championship opponent. The Golden Eagles will then return home on Sept. 16 for their Tucker Stadium opener against North Alabama.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech football are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or visit TTUsports.com.
Photo | Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
