On Oct. 24, ETSU football’s unusual fall offseason came to a close after conducting an intrasquad scrimmage in which head coach Randy Sanders was able to evaluate some of his fresh young talent.

The peculiarity of fall practices due to various COVID-19 protocols did not slow down the Bucs, who managed to squeeze in a healthy 15 team practices this fall. 

“I feel like we’re a very talented team,” Sanders said after the scrimmage via Zoom. “There’s definitely been an increase in our talent level in the last two years.”

This season’s influx of football talent is admittedly inexperienced — in fact, only three of the 18 offensive linemen listed on ETSU’s roster are juniors or above. 

“Today I counted fourteen juniors or seniors on the field,” Sanders said. “Everyone else is freshmen or sophomores. We’re young, really, really young. I know we were young last year, but we’re younger this year. It’s a good thing and it’s a bad thing.” 

Tyler Riddell (Contributed/ ETSU Bucs)

Returning redshirt freshman Tyler Riddell (Tampa, Florida) got the start for the Bucs at quarterback, completing an impressive 13 of 18 of his passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns. 

“I feel kind of how I felt in high school,” Riddell said. “I’m comfortable. I know where to go with the ball when the defense does certain things.”

Redshirt sophomore wide receiver Will Huzzie (Duluth, Georgia) led the receiving core with five catches for 53 yards on the afternoon. 

Huzzie expressed confidence in his wide receiver teammates, who hauled in a combined 324 yards across 29 receptions during the scrimmage. 

“I feel like we can be the best wide receiving core in the [Southern Conference]”, Huzzie said. “I’m just ready. I feel like we’re really loaded with talent.”

As the Bucs continue to prepare themselves and work hard both inside the classroom and in the weight room, ETSU players, coaches and fans alike await the Bucs’ season opener, which is set to take place on Feb. 20, 2021, against Samford University at William B. Greene, Jr. Stadium.

Now, the waiting game begins.