ETSU Football starts the official season on Saturday, Sept. 4 against Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tennessee.
The team has remained the same since the spring and last fall with a few additions.
“For the most part, the team knew each other and was pretty well bonded from what they did last fall; getting everything canceled but still being around each other and playing together in the spring,” said Head Coach Randy Sanders.
The team had its second scrimmage on Wednesday, Aug. 25. The offense team ended the night with Will Huzzie (Duluth, Georgia) with five catches for 91 yards along with two touchdowns.
“It seems like we are in a further spot than the past summers, having come straight off the spring and basically having the same five, six, seven guys that started in the spring, getting those same guys back out here in the summer. I think we’ve started out in a better spot,” said offensive line coach Matt McCutchan. “They’ve progressed pretty well. We are doing some good things right now; we will see come Vanderbilt.”
Coming out of the scrimmage, defense finished strong with 93 tackles, which came from a mix of 35 different players.
“We are making progress, slowly but surely we’re getting to where we need to be. They are playing hard; they are getting better with their technique, fundamentals, tackling, playing physical, playing hard. The rest is just fine-tuning things, getting healthy, and make sure we’re able to get going when we go to Vandy,” said Anthony Shakir, defensive line coach.
With the last game of the spring season against Chattanooga being canceled, leaving the final game played away against Mercer, the team is ready to get back out on the field for the first game against Vanderbilt.
“We are excited; we played against them in 2019. It didn’t really go well, but that season wasn’t a good season; so I feel like we are definitely a lot more excited to play them this year and kick off this season against them. We feel like we can win as long as we do what we’re supposed to do,” said junior Quay Holmes (Powder Springs, Georgia).
Commenting on the spring season spent preparing for this fall, Sanders talked about the team’s expectations.
“We had the opportunity to win a championship, win a ring, make the playoffs and we kind of let one get away from us; so I think everyone has high expectations,” said Sanders. “Pretty much everybody we play has the same team returning, and last year all the games were close. I expect it to be the same way this fall. It’s going to be a very competitive season, I think. Not just in our conference but in most of college football.”
