Camp Notebook: Camp underway with Photo Day, team's first practice session
The Tennessee Tech football squad got its 2014 fall camp underway Saturday, beginning with the annual Photo Day on Overall Field and ending with the team's first practice session in Tucker Stadium.
By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
Video by Marc Graham, TTU Video Production Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech football squad got its 2014 fall camp underway Saturday, beginning with the annual Photo Day on Overall Field and ending with the team's first practice session in Tucker Stadium.
| What Happened Today: The Golden Eagles took care of Photo Day in the morning, then spent two hours on the field in shorts and helmets Saturday afternoon in the team's first practice session. The practice included several a warm up period, positional drills, some special teams practice, positional skill work and some 7-on-7 drills. |
Best Offensive Play of the Day:Senior QW Darian Stone flashed impressive hands in his newly appointed position, grabbing several nice passes from quarterback Jared Davis, including a leaping, finger-tip in the flats. Honorable Mention: Jared Davis made a few impressive catches of his own, snagging a few passes from none other than Darian Stone. |
Best Defensive Play of the Day:Good news Golden Eagle fans: the Tech defense is still rolling. One of the best defensive units in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2013, the Golden Eagle defense displayed those skills right off the bat as senior safety Marty Jones deflected the first pass attempt of the 7-versus-7 drills. Senior cornerback James Huguely promptly swiped the ball out of the air for an interception and great sign of things to come. |
They Said It:"[During the game], somebody is going to give in. Maybe at the end of the game. Maybe in the second quarter. Just know, it will not be us. We will be tougher because of what we accomplish out here over the next three weeks." - Head coach Watson Brown addressing the team after practice. |
| What's Next: The team will go through meetings Sunday after lunch, then practice on Overall Field in shorts and helmets beginning at 2:45 p.m. |
Temperatures rising
After enjoying nearly a week of cooler, pleasant weather and lower humidity, the Golden Eagles were greeted Saturday with much more typical Tennessee summer conditions. The temperature jumped to the upper 80s with more humidity by the time the team hit the turf in Tucker Stadium. The forecast calls for hot weather throughout the first week of camp, which will keep the athletic trainers and managers busy helping the players stay hydrated and safe.
Advent of camp signals end of summer.....vacation
It's not as though Watson Brown was on vacation during the summer, but any time that he did find away from football is over now for the veteran coach.
"In June we got a little personal time," Brown said. "We went to the lake, and (his wife) Brenda and I spent some time together. We were able to do some things together, take short trips to Nashville or Knoxville, go to a movie. We did a lot of just hanging out. I didn't really get a chance to play much golf.
"It's all changed now, and we really had to do all of that in June. They (NCAA) changed what we can do, so in July our staff was back here doing more things with our players," Brown said. "July used to be a little down time for our staff, but now it's a work month. It was an in-and-out of the office month, but now we spent a lot more time with the players, in meetings, on the field to watch them."
He said he snuck away from the office during the lunch hour in July to squeeze in four or five holes at Ironwood Golf Course.
"I would walk it, and it's pretty hilly out there," he said. "That's what I did to try to get myself in shape by walking in the heat of the day. Get myself ready for camp."
While the approaching season didn't leave Brown restless, he admits that he was never too far from football.
"I spent a lot of time trying to hit on exactly what we can do, defensively," he said. "What we can do with our players. The coaches also spent time thinking about what we can do with our QWs, too. I thought more about Xs and Os than normal."
Brown said his staff also spent quite a bit of time setting up practice schedules and routines for the fall.
"We have to tone everything around playing 10 straight weeks, or more," he said. "We have to be careful in the preseason not to go too hard. After our bye week (Sept. 13), we play 10 weeks in a row and we have spent a lot of time discussing the best way to prepare our players for that, and discussing what to do in our time on the field."
Shall we call him "The Leg"?
Tech fans were treated to many amazing feats (not feets) by two-time All-American punter Chad Zinchini over the past two seasons, including an incredible, 70-yard punt at No. 25 ranked Wisconsin during the 2013 campaign.
His leg now belongs to the NFL after he signed a free agent deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars shortly after the 2014 NFL Draft.
But the Golden Eagle faithful should have no fear. Redshirt freshman punter Jonathan King is here and man can he kick. He really helped live up to the name of the playing surface at Tucker Stadium as balls were booming all over the field at Overall Field.
King destroyed punts traveling easily over 50 yards in the air on a regular basis, usually displaying a hangtime of at least four-and-half to five seconds.
Needless to say, Tech has found an answer to the hole left by the graduation of Zinchini.
Life is like a box of....crayons?
At least that what it seemed like at the first practice as four different colored jerseys were donned on the field, all with different purposes. Quarterbacks were decked out in gold and the newly-created QW position was assigned black. All other offensive players, as well as the punters, kickers and long snappers, work purple while the defense took to white uniforms.
The birth of the QW
Still in its infancy, the QW position was on full display for the entire roster for the first time Saturday. Three teams got reps utilizing the new position which pits a quarterback/receiver/runningback on the field at all times.
With several different players getting an opportunity to work in the new role, it will only be a matter of time before the real impact is felt around both the locker room and entire league.
"I hopes it impacts the team a lot," starting QW Darian Stone said. "I'm just doing the best I can to help the team any way I can, whether it be running the ball, catching the ball or passing it. I want to do whatever I can to help this team out. We also have a lot of depth at the position with Brock McCoin, Ty Jobe, and Daniel Pierce. We all just need a little more work and by the beginning of the season, we will be ready."
Other thoughts from a rolling Stone
"It's been really good having Casey Kramer come into the program," Stone said. "The guys have been working really hard in the weight room. You can really see a big difference in the guys. A lot of them look bigger, stronger, and faster like Coach Brown want's us to be. I know a lot of us were eager to get out of the weight room and get after it on the field. So it was really exciting to be out here today. There were a lot of mistakes, but it was the first day and we will get back into it."
"The most encouraging thing today was just Coach Brown giving his speech at the end of practice," Stone added. "He talked about getting tougher and about last season and how we finished on a two-game win streak. He addressed that we need to take the momentum from last year into this season and improve off those two wins. I'm just motivated and ready to get back out there."
Get your season tickets
The Golden Eagles will host six home football games during the 2014 season, opening against Kentucky Christian on Thursday, Aug. 28. After that, Tech will welcome Murray State on Saturday, Oct. 4, Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 18, Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Nov. 1, Southeast Missouri for Homecoming on Saturday, Nov. 8, and Chattanooga on Saturday, Nov. 15.
For season ticket information, contact the Tennessee Tech Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call 931-372-3940. Tickets are also on sale online at TTUsports.com.
