CAMP OPENS
EVEN A DELAYED START CAN’T DAMPEN MOCS’ MOOD
Even the threatening skies above Finley Stadium couldn’t dampen Rusty Wright’s mood.
Wednesday marked the opening of camp for the 2019 football season, Wright’s first as a head coach, and though the start would be delayed by afternoon thunderstorms, the anticipation was clear to see on the coach’s face.
“You can’t explain it, especially for me,” Wright said. “This is the first time I’ve talked to a team before fall camp opened up. You’ve got butterflies, you’ve got all those things going on — your mind is racing. I slept a little last night, but there was a lot of tossing and turning.
“You’re trying to give a group of guys a chance. That’s the whole point of this thing: You’re trying to give these guys a chance to be successful, and you don’t want to miss anything that can help them do that.”
The Mocs eventually made onto the field, though the midafternoon practice turned into one under the lights. Wright and his new staff weren’t going to waste one of the precious practices in advance of the Aug. 29 season opener against Eastern Illinois.
With a slew of new players — including 12 transfers — who didn’t go through spring practice, the first part of preseason camp will be spent on finding out what the Mocs have to work with.
“We’ve got to evaluate a lot,” Wright said. “There are 30-something new guys on this roster since the spring, so we have to evaluate guys who can help us pretty quickly with 25 practices until we kick off.”
There also are new schemes to perfect, situational drills to catch up on and, according to one seasoned veteran, bonds of friendship that have to be formed. With nearly a third of the roster new, a lot of the guys are just now getting to know one another.
“We brought in a bunch of transfers, and all of them will be competing for time,” senior linebacker Marshall Cooper said. “It’s all a young group. I’m the old guy, which is weird for me.
“It’s about focusing on the now. There’s no need to stress out — just come out here every day and get better. The bottom line is just building that relationship as a team and love each other. Between my failures and my mistakes and my successes, I’m just trying to teach them some things and now to keep their heads up and realize their time will come.”
Cooper will have his hands full. Four of the transfers — Kayne Roberts, Jay Person, Zay Brown and Kam Jones — are linebackers, one of the positions Wright says will get a lot of focus in the coming days.
“Linebacker, corner, defensive line are all concerns right now,” he said. “Defensively we have to have some guys play at a higher level. We’re not there yet. Offensively, we have questions at running back and wide receiver that have to be answered. I’m not sure we have a receiver that has caught a ball other than Bryce Nunnelly.”
That’s where another veteran will play a big role. Senior quarterback Nick Tiano has worked with all the receiving candidates this summer — guys such as transfers Tyrin Summers, Demarcus Williams and Reginald Henderson — and he feels the talent is there.
“We’ve added a lot of pieces, guys who will be able to help us a lot this fall,” Tiano said. “Luckily, we’ve had a lot of these guys this summer, so we’ve been throwing together and running plays. There are a lot of guys who will have opportunities to play, guys who have been here a couple of years and guys who have just come in. They will all get their chance to prove themselves, and that’s exciting.”
Tiano, like his coach, was busting at the chops to get onto the field, though the reality that it’s his final preseason camp was starting to sink in.
“It’s amazing. It has flown by, and that’s kind of sad, but it’s exciting to get back to playing football,” he said. “We’ve done a lot of working out and running, but we’re excited to play the game and get this season kicked off.”
Nunnelly, by the way, added another preseason national accolade Wednesday. The junior from Walker Valley High School was included on the Walter Payton Award watch list for the best offensive player in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision. Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22