Raiders excited to kick off spring Tuesday

3/15/2021 7:00:00 AM | Football

By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — If there's one sweeping theme around Middle Tennessee's football team, it's of excitement for spring practice to start Tuesday.

It's well-documented the impact not having spring practice and summer drills had on football teams around the country last season. The Blue Raiders were no different, finishing the season two weeks early with a 3-6 record, 2-4 in Conference USA.

"I'm looking forward to it because we have so many young guys who weren't able to go through last spring and summer, and the season was so discombobulated that they lost the teaching part of it a little bit. That's what spring is," head coach Rick Stockstill said. "We're anxious to turn the page on last season and get going again."

Stockstill and his staff are understandably giddy to participate in spring practice this season, but there is plenty to accomplish in just a few weeks.

Who slots into starting spots?

MT has the benefit of bringing back a lot from last year's roster — only three starters aren't returning — but that doesn't mean everything will just roll over into a new season. There is competition everywhere that could breed new starters and role players, and that competition starts now, though Stockstill doesn't want to rush things.

"I'm not in a hurry to nail spots down," he said. "If it happens at the end of spring, end of summer, into August — I'm not in a hurry. I want to coach this team and improve this team fundamentally. … This spring will be critical for a lot of our young guys who haven't gone through it. We can slow things down and really teach them how to play the game."

The Blue Raiders are charged this offseason with finding a new starting quarterback and placekicker and replacing their best offensive lineman from the past few seasons, Robert Jones, who is readying for the NFL Draft.

At quarterback, redshirt junior Chase Cunningham is the name fans most recognize. He's been the primary backup for the last three years, playing in 12 games over that span. Redshirt sophomore Mike DiLiello also returns after playing in one game last season late against Troy, his first year at MT.

They'll battle this spring with redshirt junior transfer Bailey Hockman, who transferred this offseason from North Carolina State. He started nine games for the Wolfpack in 2020.

The kicking game is wide open, with freshmen Scott Payne, Colin Figenscher and Zeke Rankin and redshirt sophomore Thomas Burks trying to take field goal and kickoff duties after Crews Holt departed this offseason.

On the offensive line, transfers Jamari Williams, a redshirt freshman, and Netori Johnson, a redshirt junior, are joining the group from Georgia and Arizona, respectively. They're adding just more firepower to an offensive line that Stockstill and his staff are optimistic about.

New OC settling in

Middle Tennessee has a new offensive coordinator roaming the sidelines this year with Brent Dearmon coming over from Kansas. This spring will be critical for him as he implements his scheme and finds a quarterback to take consistent first-team reps.

"Our staff has been implementing everything and meeting with the players and all that, and I like where we're at right now heading into spring," Stockstill said.

Dearmon, one of the brightest offensive minds in the country, spent two seasons at Kansas, and prior to that was the head coach at Bethel College in West Tennessee.

The Blue Raiders have one other new coach, though Brent Stockstill, who was hired to guide the wide receivers, is no stranger to MT.

Health of the Raiders

Barring unforeseen circumstances, Middle Tennessee will enter spring camp rather healthy. Some players won't participate while recovering from injuries or surgery, but Stockstill said there haven't been any surprises.

"We'll go into spring relatively healthy," he said. "At least, there won't be any surprises. Unless something happens, we'll go in knowing who we won't have."

The group who won't participate in spring drills includes Gregory Grate, Decorian Patterson, DQ Thomas, Johnathan Butler, Jalen Davis, Darius "Juju" Williams, Jarek Campbell, Andrew Leak and Terry Wilkins.

COVID protocols still in place

Having spring practice this year might feel like a little bit of a return to normal, but MT will still have COVID-19 protocols in place to help provide a safe practice space for players, coaches and staff.

The Blue Raiders will test all players, coaches and support staff weekly, hold meetings outdoors in small groups, require masks on the sidelines and in all meetings, and have other precautions in place to try and stay COVID-free.

"We're still constantly reminding our guys about wearing a mask, not getting in big groups, staying safe and all of that. They've done a great job," Stockstill said. "We're still taking all the precautions we did last season. We haven't done away with anything we did in the fall.

"With the vaccine and things starting to open back up, you can see a little light at the end of the tunnel, but we can't relax. We have to stay diligent in everything we're doing."

Looking for a fast start

With only a few weeks to work this spring, getting off to a good start the first few practices will be key. Luckily, Stockstill should have plenty of excitement from his players and coaches to utilize.

"I just want to continue to build on our team chemistry," he said. "I want to see us get better every day. I told our team constantly this offseason that whatever you want in life, if your work ethic doesn't equal your want, then you'll never be successful. … We want to get a little bit better individually and a little bit better collectively as a team every day."