By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech football team has been able to get a lot more physical on the field as they continue their spring workouts. The Golden Eagles have already been trying to get stronger with their efforts in the Athletic Performance Center.
Now, with the intensity cranked up and the players getting to be more active, the opportunity presents itself to get tougher.
"I really like how focused everyone is on the process of winning," said Tech head coach Bobby Wilder. "Football is a contact sport and we've got the pads on, but the one thing I really like right now is we are playing really smart football. You can play fast, you can think fast and you can stay off the ground in the periods we require that. The guys are doing a really good job of understanding that we need to play faster, think faster, but – for now – we need to stay off the ground."
The physicality and toughness piece was most evident midway through Thursday's session during a kickoff return drill as players tried to race past each other while in grappling contact.
"That's Coach (Frank) Wilson, our special teams coordinator," Wilder said. "He has some outstanding drills for the players. That was a kickoff vs. kickoff return drill where the ball is in the air and, before the returner gets to the ball, there's contact in 25-to-40-yard-line zone.
"We were working with the guys on the kickoff team how to avoid the guys on the kickoff return team, how to push that coverage guy away from the returner. It was really good and really competitive. The kids right now are taking a lot of pride in trying to be the No. 1 special teams unit in the conference."
As the practice came to a close, the players grouped together in a manner reminiscent of a post-game handshake line, proving that whatever frustration or adversarial moments that may have happened during the session was just water under the bridge.
The Golden Eagles are getting tougher, but, at the end of the day, they're still brothers.
"The hardest thing about spring practice is that it's always offense vs. defense," Wilder said. "The reason we have them all come together at the end of practice to congratulate each other, shake hands with the guy you battled all day is to remind them that they are teammates. When we go to Middle Tennessee for the first game, we're family – it's all of us together. It's a good reminder that 'I'm battling that guy all spring ball, but he's still my brother.'"
The Golden Eagles, now nearly two weeks in the spring sessions, are still just short of the midway point with the practices running through April 20 and the spring game on April 13.
"I wouldn't say there's anything that's surprised me," Wilder said, "but I am really impressed with how hard they've worked and how much they want to learn. We're still in the phase right now where the special teams, the offense and the defense are new to them. There's a lot of language that they're trying to learn, but they work hard and they study. They want to win and they're committed to everything we ask of them in the process of winning."
As Tech Football continues to work – the team will return to practice again Friday morning from approximately 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. before returning to their normal schedule next week – there's still a lot to accomplish.
"We'll practice again on Friday since we're giving everyone the Easter celebration weekend off," Wilder said. "Tomorrow will be our first time in full pads and we'll play some tackle football for the first time. As I've told them, we have to be really smart because we don't have a lot of depth, particularly on the offensive line and some spots in the defensive backfield, but they've earned the right to play some tackle football (Friday). We'll cover some situational football and make it as much like a game as possible."
All practices at Tucker Stadium are open to the public.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
