How Old Dominion’s season off the field catapulted the Monarchs over Virginia Tech on it

[Greenrex]

"The night before Old Dominion opened its season against Virginia Tech, right tackle Nick Saldiveri stood up for a “share” session with his teammates. Before he got fired up, before he called down the thunder with pleas for his teammates to keep swinging and make the Hokies wonder by the end of the game if they should even keep playing football, Saldiveri talked about his belief in the Monarchs’ preparation.

It was some of the same embrace-the-grind, respect-the-process talk that every program tries to instill, but coming from an older Old Dominion player, it landed differently. Saldiveri came to ODU in 2018, which means he has a gap in his resume.

The Monarchs, who start play in the Sun Belt this season, were Conference USA members in 2020. Conference USA played football in 2020. Old Dominion did not.

Athletic director Wood Selig canceled all fall sports, so the Monarchs only practiced in coach Ricky Rahne’s first season. “Like three consecutive spring balls,” Saldiveri said."

The New York Times, The Athletic article:
https://theathletic.com/3573226/2022/09/08/old-dominion-virginia-tech-football/?source=freedailyemail&campaign=601983