Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
CUSA Kickoff Notebook: “This is not a rebuild at MTSU.”
7/23/2024 4:52:00 PM | Football
Odds and Ends from the Blue Raiders trip out to CUSA Media Day
FRISCO, Texas — Derek Mason is never one to shy away from high expectations.
He set them from the very first team meeting the night he was hired. He enforces them in the classroom, the weight room and, of course, on-the-field. Those expectations can sometimes be more abstract, in how he describes the culture he wants (blue collar) or the want-to of his team's work ethic (The Work is Free).
But he doesn't shy away from concrete goals either.
"This is not a rebuild at MTSU," Mason said at CUSA Kickoff on Tuesday. "I think we've got a chance to compete, like anybody else in this conference, immediately. It's just about how fast we can get our guys up to speed with what this conference entails."
Picked fourth by a single vote over Sam Houston and FIU earlier this week, Mason acknowledged that prediction was a fair one given what the Blue Raiders had done in past.
"Preseason rankings are preseason rankings," Mason said. "It gives credit to where this program has been, because you could be in a different spot. Right now, I think that's pretty accurate for what's been done."
But the early comment that MTSU has the expectation to contend, and contend early in Mason's tenure, underscored the other storylines underway as we await the start of fall camp at the end of this month. Here's some topics I'm taking with me back to Murfreesboro tonight with the 2024 football season just around the corner.
Fifty-Nine(?!) Newcomers join Blue Raiders this fall
College football rosters in 2024, Mason noted, are a bit of a paradox. In the day and age of the transfer portal, you're almost always going to be a veteran laded team, either with your own guys or with guys who've taken snaps elsewhere before joining your programs. And if you're recruiting properly, you're also going to almost always be young, particularly behind those veteran starters.
Even with that acknowledgment, the newness of the 2024 Blue Raider Football Roster stands out among other teams in college football. Including walk-ons, MTSU will welcome 59 newcomers to their program for the 2024 season. Of MTSU's 85 potential scholarship players, 40 of them will be new to the program this season. That's reflected on the initial two-deep ahead of fall camp, which features over a dozen of those new faces in the lineup, including five starters.
"When you look at the 59 new guys, it can be difficult at times," quarterback Nicholas Vattiato acknowledged. "Not even on the field, but in the locker room. You look to your left and your right and it's a guy you might not even know or you just met that day."
All three players in attendance in Frisco, including one of those newcomers, Wake Forest safety transfer Brendon Harris, agreed that Mason's early culture set has helped bring the team together early. Mason himself praised the work of his players on building those bonds.
"Everybody believes that with a lot of new guys, there's going to be some discomfort," Mason said. "But really, there's been no discomfort. It's been fun, it's been functional, it's been progressive. I think it's going to be advantageous for us because it's a tight group."
The work ethic and production of those brought in, linebacker Devyn Curtis said, has also helped everyone get on board with one another.
"You can look at the quantity, but we've got such a good quality of guys," Curtis said. "They're all eager, motivated, it's all mutual respect."
Newish-Looks on Both Sides of the Ball
It's easy to get caught up in the potential scheme changes that might occur when a team brings in a new coordinator, as MTSU did on both sides of the ball this offseason. And both of those Blue Raider coordinators, Bodie Reeder for the offense, Brian Stewart for the defense, have run schemes that don't look a ton, on paper, like the Air Raids and 4-3 looks the Blue Raiders ran in recent years.
Mason said on Tuesday, however, that both sides of the ball have been built around this team's current strengths. And a lot of those strengths will result in MTSU maybe having more wrinkles, or being more multiple, than they were in the past.
"We're a 4-3 defense," Mason said. "We just have some 3-4 principles within that 4-3 defense that allows us to morph and be exactly what we want to be."
Eagled-eyed viewers of the media guide will note that starters are listed in a 3-4 scheme, with a defensive end, nose guard and defensive tackle, but Mason pointed out that the WILL linebacker role is filled by a player, Brandon Buckner, that's a defensive end by trade. He just might start some plays standing up, others with his hand in the grass. A 4-3, with 3-4 princples, as Curtis noted, isn't all that different from what they've been doing, particularly given Stewart's ties to Wade Phillips and his love of generating pressure throuh stopping the run to earn the chance to rush the quarterback.
"It's all football, defenses are all the same, it's just how you present it," Curtis said.
Offensively, expect a truly multiple look from MTSU this year, one that won't be afraid to run what worked from the one-tight end sets that MTSU nearly always played out of last season, but also is willing to bring some new faces from a beefed up tight end room into the game as well when the situation calls for it, a product Mason pointed to being born of a desire to keep Vattiato upright more often this season.
"We felt like in pass pro, at times, our quarterback was a under a little bit of duress. You're still going to see 11 personnel, you're still going to see 10 personnel, but you're going to see 12 and 13 and maybe even 22 personnel too."
EA Sports College Football brings the college football world together in Frisco
Just over a week from its early access release and EA Sports College Football 25 has already made its mark on the 2024 season. Conference USA was sure to not only have the game playable in the lobby of the PGA of America for players and coaches to play in between stations, but also shot a game between the two players for their own social media. MTSU's session featured Harris and Vattiato on the sticks, with Mason and Curtis on commentary from the couch beside them.
You'll have to tune in to find out the winner, but the game was one the mind of all three players this week. Curtis said he's already nearing the 50-hour mark in playtime, while Vattiato said he's getting DMs on instagram from all sorts of folks playing as him in Dynasty mode.
"Most are like 'Oh you're a dawg! You just won the Heisman.' Sending me pictures of me winning player of the week," Vattiato said. "Some are like, 'Stop throwing picks!' Dude, you've got the controller!"
He set them from the very first team meeting the night he was hired. He enforces them in the classroom, the weight room and, of course, on-the-field. Those expectations can sometimes be more abstract, in how he describes the culture he wants (blue collar) or the want-to of his team's work ethic (The Work is Free).
But he doesn't shy away from concrete goals either.
"This is not a rebuild at MTSU," Mason said at CUSA Kickoff on Tuesday. "I think we've got a chance to compete, like anybody else in this conference, immediately. It's just about how fast we can get our guys up to speed with what this conference entails."
Picked fourth by a single vote over Sam Houston and FIU earlier this week, Mason acknowledged that prediction was a fair one given what the Blue Raiders had done in past.
"Preseason rankings are preseason rankings," Mason said. "It gives credit to where this program has been, because you could be in a different spot. Right now, I think that's pretty accurate for what's been done."
But the early comment that MTSU has the expectation to contend, and contend early in Mason's tenure, underscored the other storylines underway as we await the start of fall camp at the end of this month. Here's some topics I'm taking with me back to Murfreesboro tonight with the 2024 football season just around the corner.
Fifty-Nine(?!) Newcomers join Blue Raiders this fall
College football rosters in 2024, Mason noted, are a bit of a paradox. In the day and age of the transfer portal, you're almost always going to be a veteran laded team, either with your own guys or with guys who've taken snaps elsewhere before joining your programs. And if you're recruiting properly, you're also going to almost always be young, particularly behind those veteran starters.
Even with that acknowledgment, the newness of the 2024 Blue Raider Football Roster stands out among other teams in college football. Including walk-ons, MTSU will welcome 59 newcomers to their program for the 2024 season. Of MTSU's 85 potential scholarship players, 40 of them will be new to the program this season. That's reflected on the initial two-deep ahead of fall camp, which features over a dozen of those new faces in the lineup, including five starters.
"When you look at the 59 new guys, it can be difficult at times," quarterback Nicholas Vattiato acknowledged. "Not even on the field, but in the locker room. You look to your left and your right and it's a guy you might not even know or you just met that day."
All three players in attendance in Frisco, including one of those newcomers, Wake Forest safety transfer Brendon Harris, agreed that Mason's early culture set has helped bring the team together early. Mason himself praised the work of his players on building those bonds.
"Everybody believes that with a lot of new guys, there's going to be some discomfort," Mason said. "But really, there's been no discomfort. It's been fun, it's been functional, it's been progressive. I think it's going to be advantageous for us because it's a tight group."
The work ethic and production of those brought in, linebacker Devyn Curtis said, has also helped everyone get on board with one another.
"You can look at the quantity, but we've got such a good quality of guys," Curtis said. "They're all eager, motivated, it's all mutual respect."
Newish-Looks on Both Sides of the Ball
It's easy to get caught up in the potential scheme changes that might occur when a team brings in a new coordinator, as MTSU did on both sides of the ball this offseason. And both of those Blue Raider coordinators, Bodie Reeder for the offense, Brian Stewart for the defense, have run schemes that don't look a ton, on paper, like the Air Raids and 4-3 looks the Blue Raiders ran in recent years.
Mason said on Tuesday, however, that both sides of the ball have been built around this team's current strengths. And a lot of those strengths will result in MTSU maybe having more wrinkles, or being more multiple, than they were in the past.
"We're a 4-3 defense," Mason said. "We just have some 3-4 principles within that 4-3 defense that allows us to morph and be exactly what we want to be."
Eagled-eyed viewers of the media guide will note that starters are listed in a 3-4 scheme, with a defensive end, nose guard and defensive tackle, but Mason pointed out that the WILL linebacker role is filled by a player, Brandon Buckner, that's a defensive end by trade. He just might start some plays standing up, others with his hand in the grass. A 4-3, with 3-4 princples, as Curtis noted, isn't all that different from what they've been doing, particularly given Stewart's ties to Wade Phillips and his love of generating pressure throuh stopping the run to earn the chance to rush the quarterback.
"It's all football, defenses are all the same, it's just how you present it," Curtis said.
Offensively, expect a truly multiple look from MTSU this year, one that won't be afraid to run what worked from the one-tight end sets that MTSU nearly always played out of last season, but also is willing to bring some new faces from a beefed up tight end room into the game as well when the situation calls for it, a product Mason pointed to being born of a desire to keep Vattiato upright more often this season.
"We felt like in pass pro, at times, our quarterback was a under a little bit of duress. You're still going to see 11 personnel, you're still going to see 10 personnel, but you're going to see 12 and 13 and maybe even 22 personnel too."
EA Sports College Football brings the college football world together in Frisco
Just over a week from its early access release and EA Sports College Football 25 has already made its mark on the 2024 season. Conference USA was sure to not only have the game playable in the lobby of the PGA of America for players and coaches to play in between stations, but also shot a game between the two players for their own social media. MTSU's session featured Harris and Vattiato on the sticks, with Mason and Curtis on commentary from the couch beside them.
You'll have to tune in to find out the winner, but the game was one the mind of all three players this week. Curtis said he's already nearing the 50-hour mark in playtime, while Vattiato said he's getting DMs on instagram from all sorts of folks playing as him in Dynasty mode.
"Most are like 'Oh you're a dawg! You just won the Heisman.' Sending me pictures of me winning player of the week," Vattiato said. "Some are like, 'Stop throwing picks!' Dude, you've got the controller!"
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