Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“We're all tired of being tired” - Open Week comes at perfect time for MTSU Football to reset
9/29/2024 3:34:00 PM | Football
Progress has been made through a 1-4 start for the Blue Raiders, but the program knows they need a lot more progress to happen in their 12-day layoff between games.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Derek Mason felt good about his team coming into Saturday against Memphis.
The early weeks of the 2024 season that featured Middle Tennessee football shuffling players in and out of the lineup due to injury, tweaking play calling on offense and defense through the ups and (mostly) downs to find what works and what doesn't, figuring out who, among those even available, Mason and his staff could trust, all of the grind had come into focus for Middle Tennessee football on Saturday.
In Saturday night's 24-7 loss to the Tigers in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, there was progress. Particularly on defense, where MTSU held Memphis scoreless in the first quarter, holding Tiger quarterback Seth Henigan under 230 yards in the air. But after a 1-4 start to the 2024 season, Mason knows that the progress MTSU has made is close, but not quite enough to get to where this team wants to be.
"I think we're all grinding right now, because we're playing young guys and we're having to grow up through everybody's eyes," Mason said. "And people don't care that you're young, people want to see some results and want to see some progress. And so do we!"
The young guys playing early for the Blue Raiders is out of necessity. At least 11 projected starters for opening day have missed starts this season for MTSU, including three of the team's original offensive line starters (Julius Pierce, J'Shun Bodiford and Marcus Miller) and all but one of the opening day starters in the secondary (De'Arre McDonald, Tyrell Raby, Brendon Harris and Trevon Ferrell). All three of MTSU's returning veterans at linebacker (Devyn Curtis, Parker Hughes and Drew Francis) have missed starts as well, plus MTSU's opening day starter at running back (Frank Peasant).
It's not an excuse for Mason, but a reality, an explanation for why things aren't as sharp as anyone around the Blue Raider program would like them to be. The lack of experience that leads to situations like the 12-men on the field penalty late in the second quarter, one that gave Memphis a free first down on fourth down deep inside the red zone, eventually resulting in a touchdown.
"You see a young man run on the field," Mason said. "For him, it's really his first time in the rotation, the first time he's played this year. As we're calling personnel groupings, our guys, especially our young guys coming on the field, aren't doing a great job of communicating what it is."
The offense has shown an ability to move the ball at times, particularly in the air, but more of those communication issues popped up again on Saturday, where a blitzing Tiger corner was left unblocked by the MTSU offensive line, resulting in a sack fumble on a blindside hit on Nicholas Vattiato. It was one of at least two fumbles lost by MTSU for the second week in a row, the other one being Omari Kelly's 69-yard touchdown catch getting wiped off the board after Kelly lost control of the ball stretching for the pylon, the ball rolling out of the endzone for a touchback.
"I feel like that was just really bad ball security on my end," Kelly said. "Nick led me to a good spot. I've just got to finish that play next time and capitalize on it."
The good news for Middle Tennessee is that the Blue Raiders are off next week, allowing a chance for the team to get healthy and for those available to spend extra time on the details. Mason said the defense will be subbing in practice "more times than I can count" in MTSU's 12-day layoff to fix the communication breakdowns that have happened. The players, for their part, seem eager to dive into the grind when they return, with several reminding teammates to keep their heads up heading into CUSA play.
"Everything's on the table," defensive end Brandon Buckner said, referring to MTSU's goals in CUSA play. "We know what our goal is. We've just got to be consistent, everybody hone in on their little details. I feel like that will take us a long way."
Their head coach is still confident in where this team is headed, despite the frustration of the tough start to the season.
"We're all tired of being tired," Mason said. "We're about six inches away from blowing a door wide open. When we blow it open, we're going to knock it out... I don't know exactly what this team is going to look like, but I've got a good feeling about where we can go if we just continue to grab what's there. We're focused, we've just got to play cleaner."
The early weeks of the 2024 season that featured Middle Tennessee football shuffling players in and out of the lineup due to injury, tweaking play calling on offense and defense through the ups and (mostly) downs to find what works and what doesn't, figuring out who, among those even available, Mason and his staff could trust, all of the grind had come into focus for Middle Tennessee football on Saturday.
In Saturday night's 24-7 loss to the Tigers in Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, there was progress. Particularly on defense, where MTSU held Memphis scoreless in the first quarter, holding Tiger quarterback Seth Henigan under 230 yards in the air. But after a 1-4 start to the 2024 season, Mason knows that the progress MTSU has made is close, but not quite enough to get to where this team wants to be.
"I think we're all grinding right now, because we're playing young guys and we're having to grow up through everybody's eyes," Mason said. "And people don't care that you're young, people want to see some results and want to see some progress. And so do we!"
The young guys playing early for the Blue Raiders is out of necessity. At least 11 projected starters for opening day have missed starts this season for MTSU, including three of the team's original offensive line starters (Julius Pierce, J'Shun Bodiford and Marcus Miller) and all but one of the opening day starters in the secondary (De'Arre McDonald, Tyrell Raby, Brendon Harris and Trevon Ferrell). All three of MTSU's returning veterans at linebacker (Devyn Curtis, Parker Hughes and Drew Francis) have missed starts as well, plus MTSU's opening day starter at running back (Frank Peasant).
It's not an excuse for Mason, but a reality, an explanation for why things aren't as sharp as anyone around the Blue Raider program would like them to be. The lack of experience that leads to situations like the 12-men on the field penalty late in the second quarter, one that gave Memphis a free first down on fourth down deep inside the red zone, eventually resulting in a touchdown.
"You see a young man run on the field," Mason said. "For him, it's really his first time in the rotation, the first time he's played this year. As we're calling personnel groupings, our guys, especially our young guys coming on the field, aren't doing a great job of communicating what it is."
The offense has shown an ability to move the ball at times, particularly in the air, but more of those communication issues popped up again on Saturday, where a blitzing Tiger corner was left unblocked by the MTSU offensive line, resulting in a sack fumble on a blindside hit on Nicholas Vattiato. It was one of at least two fumbles lost by MTSU for the second week in a row, the other one being Omari Kelly's 69-yard touchdown catch getting wiped off the board after Kelly lost control of the ball stretching for the pylon, the ball rolling out of the endzone for a touchback.
"I feel like that was just really bad ball security on my end," Kelly said. "Nick led me to a good spot. I've just got to finish that play next time and capitalize on it."
The good news for Middle Tennessee is that the Blue Raiders are off next week, allowing a chance for the team to get healthy and for those available to spend extra time on the details. Mason said the defense will be subbing in practice "more times than I can count" in MTSU's 12-day layoff to fix the communication breakdowns that have happened. The players, for their part, seem eager to dive into the grind when they return, with several reminding teammates to keep their heads up heading into CUSA play.
"Everything's on the table," defensive end Brandon Buckner said, referring to MTSU's goals in CUSA play. "We know what our goal is. We've just got to be consistent, everybody hone in on their little details. I feel like that will take us a long way."
Their head coach is still confident in where this team is headed, despite the frustration of the tough start to the season.
"We're all tired of being tired," Mason said. "We're about six inches away from blowing a door wide open. When we blow it open, we're going to knock it out... I don't know exactly what this team is going to look like, but I've got a good feeling about where we can go if we just continue to grab what's there. We're focused, we've just got to play cleaner."
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QB
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