110 report as football camp opens Friday

8/1/2019 6:00:00 PM | Football

By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The long wait is finally nearing an end, as college football season takes a big step on Friday towards its first week.

Middle Tennessee's 110 players officially reported for fall camp on Thursday ahead of Friday's first practice, scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

As camp opens, 14-year head coach Rick Stockstill has some question marks needing answered on the roster, but he's confident his team is going in on the right note.

"We've had a really good offseason," he said. "I like where we're at with our team right now, but, obviously, we have some question marks that we have to get answered over the next four weeks."

The offseason was pretty much business as usual from a conditioning and weight training standpoint, with the exception of a little more running than usual, Stockstill said.

However, there was plenty of change from a schematic standpoint, mostly because the Blue Raiders are searching for a new starting quarterback. Middle Tennessee hasn't seen a starting quarterback battle since Brent Stockstill took the reins as a redshirt freshman in 2015.

"We want to make sure we give whoever that quarterback is the best opportunity to be successful," Rick Stockstill said. "We'll rely on people around him … and guys have to elevate their game, especially early.

"We needed our team and individuals to step up from a leadership standpoint, and they've done that."

The first week of camp will be an acclimatization period, meaning the team will work mostly on getting in what Stockstill calls "game shape" and getting acclimated to the offense, defense and special teams.

Then, starting with the second week, MT will start fine-tuning and move toward implementing a game plan for the start of the season.

Stockstill hopes to have most of his questions answered by the time camp closes ahead of the season opener at Michigan on Aug. 31.

The Blue Raiders have 14 starters to replace from last year's team, but with 11 starters returning and depth at several positions, expectations are as high as ever.

"We're trying to formulate what our identity is going to be this year, but I have a good feel for this team," Stockstill said. "I feel confident that [we'll answer those questions] over the next few weeks."

Other camp notes

Players with new numbers and new players' numbers
Quincy Riley, 4 … Randall Johnson, 19 … Jayy McDonald, 21 … DJ Chisolm, 22 … Jalen Jackson, 23 … Marcus LaFrance, 29 … Marvae Myers-Glover, 30 … Darius McClendon, 34 … William Wilcox, 38 … Raquon Hartley, 41 … Brett Shepherd, 43 … Joseph Sewell, 45 … Andrew Leak, 46 … Dalton Frantz, 47 … Ronnin Wright, 48 … Jacob Mahoney, 51 … Darius Williams, 52 … Jacob King, 54 … Jahlil Ryles, 55 … Adam Derry, 56 … Marley Cook, 57 … Tyler Thurman, 64 … Robert Jones, 73 … Steven Losoya III, 74 … Dorian Hinton, 78 … Richard Kinley, 85 … Jarrin Pierce, 86 … Marquel Tinsley, 87 … Yusuf Ali, 89 … Zaylin Wood, 96 … Quindarius Dunnigan, 97 … JR Bivens, 98

*New players in bold

New coach
Former Middle Tennessee cornerback Kenneth Gilstrap returned to the program in March as cornerbacks coach. The 30-game starter from 2009-2013 also served as a graduate assistant for the Blue Raiders from 2015-2016 before making stops at Arkansas-Monticello and Florida A&M.

Dates to know
Aug. 10: First scrimmage
Aug. 17: Second scrimmage
Aug. 21: Beanie Bowl
Aug. 24: Fan Appreciation Day at Floyd Stadium, 7 p.m.
Aug. 26: First game week begins and first day of classes
Aug. 31: Season opener at Michigan

For previous camp stories, see PLAYERS TO KNOW and KEY CAMP STORYLINES.

Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.