COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – As a team works toward a new season, it's not uncommon to see some bumps and bruises along the way. With the Tennessee Tech football team entering Saturday's Gathering of Eagles scrimmage, the numbers are a little more than expected with nearly 30 players sidelined from Saturday's session. 

 

"It's hard to conduct what you're trying to get done in practice and scrimmage and it's not anything the kids are doing," head coach Bobby Wilder said. "A lot of what's happening are soft tissue injuries. They're working hard and they're trying to get back. With the opener two weeks away, it's a true concern. Tonight, we had 15 true freshmen out here playing a lot of snaps. They played hard, but they're freshmen. They're going to make mistakes. I love the effort. The number one priority right now is we've got to get healthy.

 

"We have some really good football players on this team. The issue right now is having the combinations on the field together."

 

While it isn't where the team wants to be at the moment, it did present the opportunity for the Golden Eagles to build some depth with the season approaching.

 

"Yeah, that's the good thing you find as a coach," Wilder said "I mentioned those 15 freshmen. They got thrown out here under the lights. For the most part, they did a great job. Tim Jones, a freshman defensive back, made a great play against D.J. Linkins. That's a true freshman battling a guy who has played college football, including at New Hampshire and some good football here. Jones made an impactful 'island' play. You're a corner and you're on an island in man coverage. To see Tim and other freshmen make some impactful plays, that's encouraging."

 

The offense got moving quick as Dylan Laible engineered a six-play scoring drive on the first series, connecting with Jordan Yates for a 30-yard touchdown strike. After Hayden Olsen's PAT on the touchdown, the next two series ended with long field goals for Dom LeBlanc, who hit kicks from 46 and 52 yards out."

 

The defense started to slow the offense down, stalling them the next three series – including an interception by Caldra Williford for what would have been a 51-yard pick-six.

 

Jordyn Potts got the offense going once again as he dumped a pass to Jordan Harris, who then worked his way to right and outside to pick up a 60-yard touchdown on a 3rd-and-28 situation.

 

Laible picked up another touchdown pass in the red zone situations as he completed a pass to outstretched arms from Aidan Littles for a two-yard score.

 

Olsen added a pair of 31-yard field goals before the team took halftime, but Laible and Tremel Jones combined forces for two more touchdowns – the first a 65-yard hook-up, the second as he battled to the end zone and held on to the ball for the score as he rolled out of the corner.

 

The two scores sandwiched an interception by Toby Bolton that was whistled down quickly to keep the action moving.

 

"I blew the whistle on those interceptions," Wilder said, "but both of them would have been pick-sixes. The one play Caldra Williford made on the sideline – we were trying to throw a back shoulder fade ball on the line. He read it and he undercut the play. That's a big-time football play. I've told our players those are game-changers – not only in score, but also momentum."

 

Potts ended the scrimmage with a score as he threw a 13-yard pass to Isaac Knowles.

 

"There were some really good situations for both sides," Wilder said. "What made it impactful was that we have a quarterback battle going on. We have Jordyn Potts, who played last year as a true freshman. You can see the game experience in him. He made some really impressive plays in the red zone. Dylan Liable Is getting better and you can see it in every practice.

 

"If you ask me who the starter is going to be in the opener, I couldn't tell you. This is going to be a two-week battle. We've got a guy with a big arm and another guy who's a really good athlete back there and can do some impressive things with his legs – which we saw in his video from last year. It's a good battle and makes us multi-dimensional on offense because each quarterback does something different and have some incredible attributes."

 

With classes starting next week and camp coming to a close, the Golden Eagles now set their sights on the season opener in two weeks at Middle Tennessee.

 

Season tickets are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.

 

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