SAVANNAH, Georgia -- The Savannah State University Tigers wouldn't mind starting the 2018 football season the way they ended 2017.Preseason camp opened at Theodore A. Wright Stadium on a cloudy Wednesday morning and 106 participants displayed the optimistic carryover that three wins in your final four games can often bring.
"We're going to take that momentum and have fire under us and start the (2018) season stronger," said senior defensive lineman Stefen Banks.
Several brief stretches of rain during the 2 hour workout in shorts and helmets couldn't dampen the enthusiasm.
The Tigers kick off the season Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. on the road against Alabama-Birmingham.
"I was happy with the energy and excitement level," said SSU third-year head coach Erik Raeburn after practice. "Obviously, we have a lot of work to do and have mistakes to clean up. I was happy with how everyone was flying around and how hard everyone was going."
The Tigers ended the 2017 season with wins over Norfolk State, Delaware State and South Carolina State with the lone loss coming on the road against undefeated North Carolina A&T during the four-week span.
SSU's 24-point margin of victory in the 34-10 pasting of South Carolina State was its largest since a 45-10 win (a 35-point winning margin) over Livingstone in 2008.
Raeburn said the late success a year ago spurred offseason enthusiasm in the weight room and voluntary summer workouts.
"I feel like it's night and day from when I first got hired," Raeburn said. "The culture is changing and the tide is turning. It's true off the field as well. Our last APR score that we're going to turn in will be (within NCAA standards) so the guys have taken care of their work in the classroom and on the field.
"Our talent level is higher and our work ethic and commitment level are better. I'm hoping on the field, the wins are going to show that."
The Tigers (3-8, 3-5 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference in 2017) will return nine starters on offense and seven on defense.
Experience at quarterback fuels the higher expectations. TJ Bell will be back after suffering a broken left fibula and missing the final nine games last season.
In Bell's place, D'Vonn Gibbons performed well. Both are just sophomores with almost a full year of starting knowledge.
"I'm just ready to get back rolling again," said Bell, who had a team-leading 762 passing yards and 307 rushing yards in 2016. "Having a devastating injury that keeps you out of the season, it's like, 'Why me?'
"I got in my playbook even more. That's the only thing I had to do. Now I have a better understanding (of the offense.)"
Gibbons led the Tigers last season with 1,259 passing yards and 10 TDs and 462 rushing yards.
SSU averaged 28 points a game during its final six games after averaging 9.2 during the first five.
"We'll compete every day and, at the end of the day, we're teammates," Bell said. "We'll try and make each other better and support each other."
Raeburn has only one deadline to meet before naming his starting quarterback.
"For UAB," he said.
New defensive coordinator Shawn Quinn brings another source of optimism on campus.
Banks, who was named to the first-team preseason All-MEAC team, said the defense will display multiple fronts, potentially using him in multiple ways.
"They've got us more in a hybrid front (3 and 4 man)," he said. "It's better for the personnel we have."
Raeburn said Quinn's people-skills might be even more important than schemes.
"He's a high energy, positive guy and that's what we need," Raeburn said. "When you come into a program that hasn't had success, it's easy to complain and whine about the things we don't have or the resources other schools have, but he's had a great attitude. I think the players really responded to it."
SSU will continue practices in just shorts and helmets on Aug. 2 before adding shoulder pads Aug. 3-4. The Tigers will be in full gear Aug. 5.
The team will hold a scrimmage Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. at Theodore A. Wright Stadium.
SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS
No comments:
Post a Comment