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| COURTESY TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS |
TUSKEGEE, Alabama -- After an early morning practice, Tuskegee University head coach Willie Slater spoke to the media in the first weekly press conference of the season.
Slater begins his 10th year at the helm of the Golden Tigers and currently stands nine victories shy of becoming the second-winningest coach in school history.
"This has been the fastest 10 years of my life," Slater said. "It seems like everything is a blur since the last game we played, that's how fast it has gone by. It is a privilege for me to be here, this is a great institution for young men and young women."
With just nine days before the opening game against Clark Atlanta, the focus was on the offensive line and replacing the starters from last year.
"With the offensive line and tight end we are going to be brand new all the way through," Slater said. "It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. But at the same time, we have talent there we just don't have much experience. We are trying to make sure we take care of our guys, we are going to make sure we don't make our line do something they are not comfortable doing and go from there"
Although the Golden Tigers are young up front, the first three weeks of practices have been a learning experience and a chance to teach the new guys coming in. At the same time, the last week has been a week of preparation of the season opener.
"Practices are going good," Slater said. "Our guys are working hard, they are giving us good effort, and we are getting better. I can see us getting better each day, so hopefully we will be where we want to be when the time gets here. We are trying to get ready for Clark Atlanta. We don't worry about the next game, we worry about this one and we have to find a way to get through it. Our guys understand and are coming along accordingly."
The Golden Tigers were picked to win the SIAC West Division by the coaches in the preseason poll, and although Clark Atlanta is not a conference game it still a big one for Tuskegee.
"We know every time we play we are going to get the other team's best," Slater said. "We have to be ready to play. I wouldn't have it any other way to be honest. If you can win the conference with everyone putting the target on your back, then you know you deserve to win it. That is our goal every year."
Although the focus of the day was offense, Slater spoke highly about the defense and special teams before the end of the day.
"I am excited about our defense," Slater said. "We have improved ourselves on that side of the ball, particularly up front and in the secondary. We lost our two interior linemen, and we replaced those guys with two impact players. We have a lot of guys coming back on defense, including our two ends and two of our linebackers. We have had to replace some guys on defense, but the guys we have had stepped in. I am excited on seeing them play.
"At the same time I am excited about our special teams," Slater said. "We have a few guys returning the ball that will be exciting to watch, as well as our kicker."
Tickets are still available for the season opener and can be purchased by calling 334-727.8594 or 334-724-4385. Tickets are also on sale for the Whitewater Classic (September 12) in Phenix City, and the Tuskegee-Morehouse Classic (October 10) in Columbus.
Tuskegee Ranked in SBN Preseason Poll
The Sheridan Broadcasting Network released their preseason poll Tuesday morning with Tuskegee appearing in the top 10.
The Golden Tigers, coming off a 9-3 record and the SIAC championship in 2014, are the highest ranked NCAA Division II school in the poll as they are ranked seventh in the preseason. They are joined in the rankings by a pair of Division II schools, Virginia State (eighth) and Winston-Salem State (10th). The Golden Tigers are the only ranked SIAC member school in the poll.
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