Coaches challenge offense in first fall scrimmage
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the odds stacked against them in situational work, the Tennessee Tech offense had its work cut out for itself during Saturday’s scrimmage at Tucker Stadium. In all, it was an exciting day for the Golden Eagles even with some of the team’s top players watching from the sidelines, giving plenty of time to many of the new faces on the Tech roster.
By Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With the odds stacked against them in situational work, the Tennessee Tech offense had its work cut out for itself during Saturday's scrimmage at Tucker Stadium.
In all, it was an exciting day for the Golden Eagles even with some of the team's top players watching from the sidelines, giving plenty of time to many of the new faces on the Tech roster.
"I was very excited with the effort, energy and enthusiasm," said Tech head coach Bobby Wilder. "It was lively, it was physical. We purposely took the top 40 players and did not let them play tackle football. That was for two reasons. Number one, we have 40 seniors and most of them are in their fifth or sixth camp. Most have them have played over 1,500 to 2,000 snaps, so we call that load management. We're trying to be smart with how much we let them do. That gave us a chance to see the other 80 players – a lot of them new players, younger players – and let them take the majority of the reps today.
"When that happens, you're going to have some mistakes. What I get excited about as a head coach is when they're out there going full speed. For the most part, it was clean, which is really good. There were very few penalties, very few turnovers. Overall for the first scrimmage, I'm very happy with the performance today."
While the Golden Eagle quarterbacks were able to move the ball in spots, the defense took advantage and kept the Tech offense out of the end zone in the morning session. That's not a negative, though, as the coaches were trying to see how their veteran QBs would react under the pressure.
The defense claimed a fumble recovery for a touchdown and a safety early on and got pressure on the yellow jerseys.
"We put the offense in some bad situations today," Wilder said. "We started the ball on the minus-3-yard line on purpose. We did that to make it difficult. In my 34 years of coaching, if you start a scrimmage on the minus-3-yard line, usually the defense is going to have a better day.
"What I was impressed with on the offense, especially quarterbacks Kekoa Visperas, Richie Munoz and Jace Wilson – those are veteran guys. They played a combined 2,000 snaps last year. Kekoa and Richie played in the Big Sky, which is one of the best football conferences in the country. The way they won the operation and their presence in the huddle, they just give so much confidence to the other guys."
Wilder continued, "Maybe our completion percentage wasn't as good today or we didn't convert as much, but to be able to see how those guys are going to be able to manage a game, that was very important today."
The defense had an impressive showing, and that's with losing some key pieces following the past season and the spring.
"We're replacing Dan Rickert, Cayman Spaulding, Caldra Williford, Myles Parker – just impactful players," Wilder said. "We've got the depth now, which we didn't necessarily have last year. We've got really talented players at those positions, so to see those new guys out here in some live situations for the first time, it gives me confidence that we can replace four really excellent players with guys who were on the roster we developed and the new guys we added to the roster."
The team heads back to work this week before next Saturday's scrimmage before classes resume the following week.
"We'll repeat what we did this past week," Wilder said. "We'll add more situations. Coach (Frank) Wilson will install the remainder of the special teams. We'll do more situations on offense and defense. One of the big things we consistently need to work on are the in-game situations – the end of half, end of game, different parts of the field. There's still a lot of that 'based on the game plan.
"The biggest thing that will happen next week is the depth chart will become more apparent. Last year, we went to Middle Tennessee with 50 players that we felt were the caliber of players we could win with. There's 80 players this year that we feel like we can with after some adjustments to the depth chart. Who's going to make the travel team, who's going to play – that starts to show itself next week."
The Golden Eagles open the season on August 30 against Cumberland for the first of seven home games this season at Tucker Stadium as Tech looks to win the OVC-Big South title outright.
Season tickets for Golden Eagle Football are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics Media Relations
