Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
“You don't get a chance to go back and fix effort” - Spring Football starts with competitive opening week for plenty of new Blue Raiders
3/22/2025 9:34:00 AM | Football
Derek Mason and a plethora of players joined GoBlueRaiders.com after the first day of Spring Practice on Wednesday
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — From inside Floyd Stadium, the new Student-Athlete Performance Center might look like it's nearly complete. The windows have been installed, the paneling left to do on the outside is mostly on the side of the building, not the facade that overlooks the north endzone into Middle Tennessee football's spring practice.
But Head Coach Derek Mason knows there's still work to be done, particularly on the inside of the facility. The Blue Raiders' leader says he's probably the only administrator level staff member at Middle Tennessee that hasn't stepped inside the building to check on the process.
"I don't want to see the building until it's done," Mason said. "You go in there, you're looking at this, the tile, the this, the that...I just want to see the finished process."
Mason says that sentiment is how he knows many Blue Raider fans feel about their football program, which started their spring practices earlier this week in Floyd Stadium. The work that's necessary to get to a final product fans can be proud of isn't flashy. But the winter workouts in the weight room set a foundation that left Mason excited about many things he saw on the field Wednesday morning for the first practice of the spring, but with plenty of room to improve as well.
"I just told them at the end of practice we have to be the hardest playing and most competitive team out there," Mason said. "We'll fix any issues that we have, but we don't get a chance to go back and fix not being competitive. You don't get a chance to go back and fix effort. Those things are free."
At the start of spring practice, here are some early storylines to watch for the 2025 Blue Raiders.
Offense breaks in new weapons
Nicholas Vattiato is the old guy in the quarterback room now.
The redshirt senior, who's started every game for the past two seasons in Murfreesboro, is being pushed in practice by redshirt freshman Roman Gagliano and true freshman Stanley Anderson-Lofton. Redshirt junior Kaden Martin, son of legendary Tennessee quarterback and current Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach Tee Martin, rounds out the quarterback room this spring.
But the biggest adjustment for Vattiato is not in being the only mentor in the quarterback room, but in working with a plethora of receivers and tight ends that were not his top targets a season ago. While there are some familiar names, like Myles Butler, Gamarion Carter and Cam'Ron Lacy, that Vattiato is comfortable with, the loss of Holden Willis and Omari Kelly this offseason has left big shoes to fill on the outside.
"When you lose your top two guys, who are really talented players and who do a lot for your offense, there's a comfort factor, you have a lot of chemistry together," Vattiato said. "You lose that, but we have a ton of great guys in that room."
The veteran quarterback has enjoyed getting reps in with several new recruits at wide receiver and tight end. At wide receiver, the Blue Raiders found size and speed in the transfer portal, bringing in the 6-foot-3 AJ Jones from Arizona and adding the 6-foot-1 Tyree Patterson from UCF. Junior College transfer Nahzae Cox, from Fresno City College, also offers another big target to Vattiato at 6-foot-3.
The tight end room is also deeper with the addition of two transfer tight ends — Tayvion Galloway from Purdue and Hunter Tipton from Louisiana Tech — joining talented returners like Brody Benke and Evan Poticher to give MTSU depth.
"Guys like Tay and Hunter, who are new, have brought in some fresh talent, some skill," Vattiato said. "Tay can do things that Hunter can't, but Hunter can be more of a threat or presence in the run game when it comes to blocking. They're adding a lot of depth to that room."
Defensive Backfield longer this offseason, but has the speed to compete
Wide receiver was not the only skill position that added length this offseason for the Blue Raiders, as Vattiato had to thread passes in between defensive backs that are at least 6-foot-3. A pair of JuCo pick-ups — Devan Carlise, 6-foot-3, and Jordan Chestnut, 6-foot-4 — found chances to make an impact early, with Chestnut even picking off Vattiato on the first day of practice and dropping another pick on a good read on a pass.
"Coach (Bryce Lewis) and Coach (Brian Stewart), they talked to us yesterday about 'Take 3,'" Chestnut said. "That means you either get a pick, forced fumble or a fumble recovery. I felt I had to seize my moment. Carpe Diem...I feel like my moment came and I had to seize it."
Vattiato himself is excited to compete against the secondary, which like most of the roster, has a good mix of new and returning talent competing for spots with the first team this spring.
"They have speed, they can play with length, they're patient," Vattiato said of the corners. "They give our guys a lot of good work. They gave the quarterbacks a lot of good work today."
Otts looking to make impact after learning from top talent at Rhode Island
Getting better up front was clearly an offseason priority for the Blue Raiders, who have brought in seven new linemen for spring practice with at least a couple more freshmen arriving this summer. The group as a whole is clearly bigger than a season ago, a physicality that Mason picked up on the first day even though the team wasn't in full pads quite yet in their practice schedule.
"I really like the offensive line, I just do," Mason said. "We'll see how they come along. I'm not going to single out those guys because I think those guys have got to get better collectively. I don't care about the individuals. I care about how good we can be."
One of the players that might play a big role in a better offensive line? Graduate Student Jacob Otts, who's using his final year of eligibility to play for the Blue Raiders after starting all but one game last season for FCS playoff team Rhode Island last season. He said that while the Rams certainly had talented players in their defensive line room, there was definitely still a jump to the FBS level after his first practice in Murfreesboro.
"I would still say it's a jump," Otts said. "I wanted to accept that challenge this year...Right now, (I'm) just trying to learn the defensive line's techniques, trying to pick up tips on them. I'm sure they're trying to do the same on me."
Otts had a pair of talented NFL linemen ahead of him at Rhode Island during his career, including the Cleveland Browns Lorenzo Thompson and Ajani Cornelius, who's a projected draft pick after starting two years at Oregon after starting two years for the Rams at the start of his career. Otts said he's spoken to both guys within the past few weeks and both have played a big role in developing him into the player he is today.
"I was really close with AJ," Otts said. "We were roommates, came in the same year. Even if we were sitting in the dorm, giving tips to each other and helping me out. Zo was such a great mentor, an older guy, coming in, just really spoke with his action. Really came to work and was nasty. His tempo was just always going."
SRM is the jersey patch for MTSU Football during spring practice
One sign the times have changed in college football? MTSU will be wearing a patch for Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete, better known as SRM, for all 15 practices this spring. SRM has been a long-time supporter of Blue Raider Athletics and the Middle Tennessee football program, with Mason highlighting their work with the Blue Raiders' NIL program as something the program wanted to acknowledge SRM for by wearing a patch for their company on their practice uniforms.
"It's good in this day and age of Name, Image and Likeness that you can partner with somebody like SRM," Mason said. "The Hollingshead family and that group have been more than generous. But you know what? They want to win. We know they're a winning business. We want to partner with winning businesses."
Mason said that he admires the culture built in the company by the Hollingshead family.
"We're going to try to emulate their success," Mason said. They started from the ground up. They've been a Blue Collar, family-built business. And we want to be Blue Collar, and we want to win.
But Head Coach Derek Mason knows there's still work to be done, particularly on the inside of the facility. The Blue Raiders' leader says he's probably the only administrator level staff member at Middle Tennessee that hasn't stepped inside the building to check on the process.
"I don't want to see the building until it's done," Mason said. "You go in there, you're looking at this, the tile, the this, the that...I just want to see the finished process."
Mason says that sentiment is how he knows many Blue Raider fans feel about their football program, which started their spring practices earlier this week in Floyd Stadium. The work that's necessary to get to a final product fans can be proud of isn't flashy. But the winter workouts in the weight room set a foundation that left Mason excited about many things he saw on the field Wednesday morning for the first practice of the spring, but with plenty of room to improve as well.
"I just told them at the end of practice we have to be the hardest playing and most competitive team out there," Mason said. "We'll fix any issues that we have, but we don't get a chance to go back and fix not being competitive. You don't get a chance to go back and fix effort. Those things are free."
At the start of spring practice, here are some early storylines to watch for the 2025 Blue Raiders.
Offense breaks in new weapons
Nicholas Vattiato is the old guy in the quarterback room now.
The redshirt senior, who's started every game for the past two seasons in Murfreesboro, is being pushed in practice by redshirt freshman Roman Gagliano and true freshman Stanley Anderson-Lofton. Redshirt junior Kaden Martin, son of legendary Tennessee quarterback and current Baltimore Ravens wide receivers coach Tee Martin, rounds out the quarterback room this spring.
But the biggest adjustment for Vattiato is not in being the only mentor in the quarterback room, but in working with a plethora of receivers and tight ends that were not his top targets a season ago. While there are some familiar names, like Myles Butler, Gamarion Carter and Cam'Ron Lacy, that Vattiato is comfortable with, the loss of Holden Willis and Omari Kelly this offseason has left big shoes to fill on the outside.
"When you lose your top two guys, who are really talented players and who do a lot for your offense, there's a comfort factor, you have a lot of chemistry together," Vattiato said. "You lose that, but we have a ton of great guys in that room."
The veteran quarterback has enjoyed getting reps in with several new recruits at wide receiver and tight end. At wide receiver, the Blue Raiders found size and speed in the transfer portal, bringing in the 6-foot-3 AJ Jones from Arizona and adding the 6-foot-1 Tyree Patterson from UCF. Junior College transfer Nahzae Cox, from Fresno City College, also offers another big target to Vattiato at 6-foot-3.
The tight end room is also deeper with the addition of two transfer tight ends — Tayvion Galloway from Purdue and Hunter Tipton from Louisiana Tech — joining talented returners like Brody Benke and Evan Poticher to give MTSU depth.
"Guys like Tay and Hunter, who are new, have brought in some fresh talent, some skill," Vattiato said. "Tay can do things that Hunter can't, but Hunter can be more of a threat or presence in the run game when it comes to blocking. They're adding a lot of depth to that room."
Defensive Backfield longer this offseason, but has the speed to compete
Wide receiver was not the only skill position that added length this offseason for the Blue Raiders, as Vattiato had to thread passes in between defensive backs that are at least 6-foot-3. A pair of JuCo pick-ups — Devan Carlise, 6-foot-3, and Jordan Chestnut, 6-foot-4 — found chances to make an impact early, with Chestnut even picking off Vattiato on the first day of practice and dropping another pick on a good read on a pass.
"Coach (Bryce Lewis) and Coach (Brian Stewart), they talked to us yesterday about 'Take 3,'" Chestnut said. "That means you either get a pick, forced fumble or a fumble recovery. I felt I had to seize my moment. Carpe Diem...I feel like my moment came and I had to seize it."
Vattiato himself is excited to compete against the secondary, which like most of the roster, has a good mix of new and returning talent competing for spots with the first team this spring.
"They have speed, they can play with length, they're patient," Vattiato said of the corners. "They give our guys a lot of good work. They gave the quarterbacks a lot of good work today."
Otts looking to make impact after learning from top talent at Rhode Island
Getting better up front was clearly an offseason priority for the Blue Raiders, who have brought in seven new linemen for spring practice with at least a couple more freshmen arriving this summer. The group as a whole is clearly bigger than a season ago, a physicality that Mason picked up on the first day even though the team wasn't in full pads quite yet in their practice schedule.
"I really like the offensive line, I just do," Mason said. "We'll see how they come along. I'm not going to single out those guys because I think those guys have got to get better collectively. I don't care about the individuals. I care about how good we can be."
One of the players that might play a big role in a better offensive line? Graduate Student Jacob Otts, who's using his final year of eligibility to play for the Blue Raiders after starting all but one game last season for FCS playoff team Rhode Island last season. He said that while the Rams certainly had talented players in their defensive line room, there was definitely still a jump to the FBS level after his first practice in Murfreesboro.
"I would still say it's a jump," Otts said. "I wanted to accept that challenge this year...Right now, (I'm) just trying to learn the defensive line's techniques, trying to pick up tips on them. I'm sure they're trying to do the same on me."
Otts had a pair of talented NFL linemen ahead of him at Rhode Island during his career, including the Cleveland Browns Lorenzo Thompson and Ajani Cornelius, who's a projected draft pick after starting two years at Oregon after starting two years for the Rams at the start of his career. Otts said he's spoken to both guys within the past few weeks and both have played a big role in developing him into the player he is today.
"I was really close with AJ," Otts said. "We were roommates, came in the same year. Even if we were sitting in the dorm, giving tips to each other and helping me out. Zo was such a great mentor, an older guy, coming in, just really spoke with his action. Really came to work and was nasty. His tempo was just always going."
SRM is the jersey patch for MTSU Football during spring practice
One sign the times have changed in college football? MTSU will be wearing a patch for Smyrna Ready Mix Concrete, better known as SRM, for all 15 practices this spring. SRM has been a long-time supporter of Blue Raider Athletics and the Middle Tennessee football program, with Mason highlighting their work with the Blue Raiders' NIL program as something the program wanted to acknowledge SRM for by wearing a patch for their company on their practice uniforms.
Major shoutout to @SRMCONCRETE for their support of Blue Raider Football! 💙
— Derek Mason (@CoachDerekMason) March 21, 2025
We're proud to wear your logo on our uniforms this spring as we continue to build a strong foundation for success👊🏾💯#BoroBuiltMiddleMade pic.twitter.com/Al7idJM6Fp
"It's good in this day and age of Name, Image and Likeness that you can partner with somebody like SRM," Mason said. "The Hollingshead family and that group have been more than generous. But you know what? They want to win. We know they're a winning business. We want to partner with winning businesses."
Mason said that he admires the culture built in the company by the Hollingshead family.
"We're going to try to emulate their success," Mason said. They started from the ground up. They've been a Blue Collar, family-built business. And we want to be Blue Collar, and we want to win.
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