On Oct. 5, the ETSU football team and head coach Randy Sanders made a return to the football field for a practice involving pads and partial contact. It was the first time that the Bucs have had the chance to get back to their normal routine of padded practices.
After the Southern Conference announced that football and other fall sports would be postponed, many teams were left at a standstill as uncertainty washed over the entire athletic department.
Now, the Bucs are in the beginning stages of returning to the football field for competition after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanders, a two time national champion, shared some optimistic insight on the team and how they have dealt with the time away from the gridiron.
“This is a completely new experience,” Sanders said. “Thankfully, we have a great staff and we have a lot of good young men on this football team to help us get through it.”
But the pandemic will not be Sanders’ toughest challenge this season, as he fields numerous freshmen and sophomores for the 2021 season.
“We don’t have a lot of upperclassmen out there,” Sanders said. “Right now, we’re practicing with only a few juniors and seniors. We’re a young football team, but the football doesn’t know what grade you’re in and the game doesn’t care whether you’re a freshman or senior. It’s just a matter of going out there and making plays.”
Sanders will have his work cut out for him. However, the longtime coach will lean on his coaching experience to put the team in a position to succeed.
“In 2018, we had 33 guys go through senior day – I don’t think that we have 33 players on the team shaving right now,” said Sanders. “We do have a bunch of guys who need to grow up in a hurry though.”
Right now, the Bucs are focused on taking things one day at a time, and the padded practice is a step in the right direction.
“A lot of the guys are excited and a lot of guys are having fun now that we’re back out there with pads,” Sanders concluded.
