MT players control summer workouts

[MeanGreen61]

Anyone know our #s who are doing voluntary summer workouts ?

http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?A.../506260311/1006

MTSU players control summer workouts

By ADAM SPARKS

sparks@dnj.com

Walk into Floyd Stadium on a Monday or Wednesday night, and it may seem as if something a bit shady is happening with MTSU's football team.

Practice in the summer?

The NCAA doesn't allow it — at least not under the supervision of coaches.

But look on the turf, and you'll see as many as 50 Blue Raider players running routes, barking out instructions and keeping a complete order to their workout.

But look once more, and you'll notice there are no coaches.

"That's right — no coaches, just us guys," said MTSU sophomore tight end Stephen Chicola. "We're out here building team unity and getting a lot of work done."

The Blue Raiders have spent much of their summer conducting unofficial, voluntary and player-led intersquad workouts. All skills players on the offensive side have lined up opposite linebackers and defensive backs twice a week for 7-on-7 non-contact scrimmages.

It's fall work done in the summer, but that's not the unusual thing.

The strict organization and attention to detail is what sets the workouts apart from many others like them.

"How long do we go? Until the quarterbacks are satisfied and until (Justin) Rainey and some of the other defensive leaders are satisfied," said MTSU receiver Taron Henry. "But this is all players running the whole thing. So if we're not satisfied, we'll keep going until it's right."

Junior starting quarterback Clint Marks understandably guides most of the offense, while there are several defensive leaders emerging in addition to the usual suspects.

Senior linebacker Dennis Burke continues to be an on-field mentor for many Blue Raider newcomers, but there seems to be little need for rigid discipline on a squad stocked with veterans eager for a Sun Belt title run.

"It's all players out here, but that doesn't mean that a lot of his aren't acting like coaches," Burke said. "Sure, it's more relaxed, and nobody is jumping down your throat when you mess up out here. But that's what this is about. We're trying to get all the mental mistakes out of the way, so there won't be errors when we get going for real. By the time fall camp rolls around, we'll be as crisp as possible for the start of practice."

This is far from the first on-field offseason workouts the Blue Raiders have been through. Last summer, MTSU went head-to-head with Vanderbilt's best once a week. However, the MTSU-Vandy Oct. 1 meeting this season makes a summer sneak peak at each team's scheme illogical.

Nevertheless, the absence of a true opponent hasn't dampened competition.

"I was actually afraid that this would be a little more of a joke because we did this at Vandy last year, and it was pretty laid back, and some people couldn't even make it," Henry said. "But guys take this seriously, and you can see that we get into it on both sides. We have fun out here."

Indeed, many Blue Raiders say the mere hint of a fall kickoff both brings on excitement and unity.

"We take care of the physical part in other ways (during the summer), too. But this is more mental," said sophomore cornerback Bradley Robinson. "This is about getting to know each other better and learning about each other's game. It's not just that we share the same playbook. It takes time to get better and that's why we're spending so much time out here doing this.

"It's just players learning on our own, and then the coaches can come in later on and see how bad we want to win by how hard we worked in the summer."

———

MTSU FOOTBALL DATES OF NOTE

Aug. 7 Team reports

Aug. 12 First full-contact practice

Aug. 20 Fan Day

Aug. 29 First day of class

Sept. 3 Season opener at Alabama

Tickets for Alabama road game, as well as season and single-game tickets for MTSU's five home games can be purchased by calling 898-2103.

Originally published June 26, 2005

[GreenBat]

MTSU FOOTBALL DATES OF NOTE

Aug. 7 Team reports

Aug. 12 First full-contact practice

Aug. 20 Fan Day

Aug. 29 First day of class

Sept. 3 Season opener at Alabama

This article forgot a big date for MTSU:

Sept. 10 Annual loss to eventual conference champions, North Texas

[PlummMeanGreen]

This article forgot a big date for MTSU:

Sept. 10 Annual loss to eventual conference champions, North Texas

Can you really blame the Blue Raiders for their excitement in staying on campus en mass this summer, because Wright Waters and the Sun Belt office gave them the best 'Belt schedule possible. (Is Wright Waters related to Coach Andy Mac or something)?!?! LOL!

Also, this is the most out of sync football schedule I can recall at North Texas in a long time with a league opener that is much too soon in any year, a week-night game at Fouts that is nice for TV but will sacrifice all out of town alums since it is on a Tuesday night and a "Saturday after Thanksgiving" football game on campus to boot. This schedule has "not very good average home football attendance" written all over it unless someone in Denton is going to do something different from what we've been doing in marketing, lately. Guess what--only 8 weeks left till football season, too.

Hope our Mean Green football players also realize early on they will be entering hostile territory when they fly into Nashville then take the short trip to the 'Boro. If our team looks past LSU, all power to them because the Middle Tennessee game is much more important in terms of going back to a bowl game.

Just my .02...

Edited June 26, 2005 by PlummMeanGreen