Season 2, Episode 2 feat. Lauren Wamsley, Keith Vroman, and Dylan Vazzano

[00:00:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Thanks for tuning in to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast hosted by Jake Bolden.

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[00:00:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Pod.

[00:00:37] [SPEAKER_04]: Welcome to another episode of the Blue Raider Podcast and as that intro said I am your

[00:00:41] [SPEAKER_04]: host Jake Bolden and a happy week one to Blue Raider fans to college football season.

[00:00:46] [SPEAKER_04]: So much anticipation for this first week one matchup against Tennessee Tech and I'll

[00:00:50] [SPEAKER_04]: have plenty of information for you on that match up later in the episode but first we're

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_04]: going to meet our new women's golf coach Lauren Wamsley as she prepares for her first

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_04]: season in Murfreesboro. They've got a lot of young talent on that roster and Coach

[00:01:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Wamsley is poised for a really strong fall for those ladies they go up against strong

[00:01:08] [SPEAKER_04]: competition and then next I'll speak with long tenure cross country and track and field

[00:01:13] [SPEAKER_04]: coach Keith Vroman. His cross country season actually begins this Saturday as well

[00:01:17] [SPEAKER_04]: in Memphis and he will be able to answer that age old question of can we break

[00:01:22] [SPEAKER_04]: the curse of the even number years and go back to back in the CUSA cross country titles.

[00:01:27] [SPEAKER_04]: And then lastly as I alluded to we'll have a conversation go behind enemy lines with

[00:01:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Tennessee Tech they have Dylan Vizano the voice of the Golden Eagles and he'll break

[00:01:36] [SPEAKER_04]: down the game plan as well as that roster under their new coach Bobby Wilder.

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Much anticipated matchup and a lot of great information so make sure you stick around

[00:01:44] [SPEAKER_04]: to the end for that interview and then lastly we will have the Raider wrap up

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_04]: at the very tail end of the episode but before I roll Coach Wamsley's interview it is time

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_04]: to announce our winner for our giveaway of the two sideline chairback seats for

[00:01:59] [SPEAKER_04]: this Saturday's matchup against the Golden Eagles. I'm doing all of this in post production

[00:02:04] [SPEAKER_04]: so as I'm reading this I don't have a winner but I will post it right here for

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_04]: you if you see your name here keep an eye out on your social media as I'll be

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_04]: reaching out to you on the Tuesday that this episode premieres. If you're on Apple

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Podcast or Spotify I'll still be reaching out to you so make sure you don't

[00:02:22] [SPEAKER_04]: miss that message and claim your prize for those two chairback sideline seats

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_04]: for this Saturday matchup. And if you missed the giveaway you weren't able to

[00:02:31] [SPEAKER_04]: enter no fear we will run another one shortly but so you don't miss it

[00:02:36] [SPEAKER_04]: make sure you're following all of our social media accounts that's Facebook

[00:02:39] [SPEAKER_04]: Instagram X TikTok at Blue Raider Pod and of course if you're on YouTube

[00:02:44] [SPEAKER_04]: we'll also post entries onto our YouTube page here at Blue Raider Podcast. So I

[00:02:50] [SPEAKER_04]: won't keep you waiting any longer it's time to roll into that first interview

[00:02:53] [SPEAKER_04]: with Coach Lauren Wamsley and here you go. Joining us now is the newest

[00:02:58] [SPEAKER_04]: addition to the MTSU roster of coaches after spending nine seasons at

[00:03:02] [SPEAKER_04]: Grand Canyon University in Phoenix Arizona. She is the 2018 Western

[00:03:06] [SPEAKER_04]: Athletic Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Lopes to a

[00:03:09] [SPEAKER_04]: conference championship and an NCAA birth. I'm happy to be joined by

[00:03:13] [SPEAKER_04]: Lauren Wamsley not Gosecki right coach? That's right changing it over switching.

[00:03:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely well we were just talking to chatting here before you got married

[00:03:22] [SPEAKER_04]: two years ago so those that might be familiar with the name it's now

[00:03:25] [SPEAKER_04]: changing on us but no big deal there but coach how are you settling into

[00:03:27] [SPEAKER_05]: Murfreesboro? It's been amazing the transitions been awesome everyone is so

[00:03:33] [SPEAKER_05]: helpful so kind we just absolutely love it here. We moved in two weeks

[00:03:39] [SPEAKER_05]: ago now so we're getting there all the boxes are unpacked and I'm just ready to

[00:03:44] [SPEAKER_04]: ready to get started. Absolutely well you settled in nine years there and

[00:03:48] [SPEAKER_04]: it's an entirely change of scenery like you're going from the desert

[00:03:51] [SPEAKER_04]: you're going here to the mixed climate that we have here I'm sure the

[00:03:54] [SPEAKER_05]: humidity is something that you've noticed already? Yes definitely I think

[00:03:58] [SPEAKER_05]: the first day I was here we had that tornado that went through campus

[00:04:02] [SPEAKER_05]: so that was a bit of a shock so but you know being from Indiana I'm kind of used to the

[00:04:08] [SPEAKER_05]: humidity and it is nice to get back into the four seasons and experience

[00:04:14] [SPEAKER_05]: the different weather patterns and stuff like that. So and tell me a

[00:04:18] [SPEAKER_04]: little bit about the transition from the coaching perspective you know you

[00:04:21] [SPEAKER_04]: go nine seasons at Grand Canyon you get you're comfortable there but you

[00:04:25] [SPEAKER_04]: know what led you to find the job here at MTSU? Yeah so I actually had a

[00:04:30] [SPEAKER_05]: couple of friends they they reached out about the position opening up and

[00:04:34] [SPEAKER_05]: it just it really piqued my interest just moving back you know towards this

[00:04:39] [SPEAKER_05]: side of the country that was always the top priority for us and then I just

[00:04:44] [SPEAKER_05]: know the program I know the area it's it's it's a great spot you know 30

[00:04:50] [SPEAKER_05]: minutes outside Nashville like you can't beat that but just to have an

[00:04:54] [SPEAKER_05]: opportunity to continue the growth here and the strong athletics that we

[00:04:59] [SPEAKER_05]: have here at MTSU that was something that I just couldn't turn down I

[00:05:03] [SPEAKER_04]: was really excited about. From a family perspective I know you said that you're

[00:05:06] [SPEAKER_04]: from Indiana right? As far as family perspective has this put you closer to

[00:05:11] [SPEAKER_05]: your roots? It does yeah so I'm about five and a half hours from my parents

[00:05:16] [SPEAKER_05]: about seven for my sister and her family so way better than a four hour

[00:05:22] [SPEAKER_04]: flight out to Phoenix. Absolutely well coach let's talk a little bit about

[00:05:26] [SPEAKER_04]: this this new team that you're kind of getting acquainted with I know

[00:05:29] [SPEAKER_04]: you said you moved just two weeks ago but I think you're pretty

[00:05:32] [SPEAKER_04]: fortunate with the group that you got they didn't have the year they wanted

[00:05:34] [SPEAKER_04]: last year they had an injury to now senior Kendall Maynard but you have a

[00:05:39] [SPEAKER_04]: lot of youth that had a lot of promise like Ellen Manley is the name

[00:05:44] [SPEAKER_04]: with the one I'm thinking of but coach you're getting acquainted with

[00:05:46] [SPEAKER_04]: these new girls tell me a little bit about what what that's been like for

[00:05:49] [SPEAKER_05]: you. It's been great they actually were all in town about a week ago

[00:05:53] [SPEAKER_05]: week and a half ago well seven of them so I was able to have lunch

[00:05:57] [SPEAKER_05]: with them kind of just get to know them a little bit and they're so fun they

[00:06:03] [SPEAKER_05]: have so much personality and you could tell they're just so excited they're

[00:06:07] [SPEAKER_05]: ready to get going they just want to get out there and play and they

[00:06:11] [SPEAKER_05]: know our tournament schedule coming up so they're ready to compete with

[00:06:14] [SPEAKER_05]: some of the best in the country so you know for a coach that's like

[00:06:18] [SPEAKER_05]: literally all I could ask for is just people who are ready to get going

[00:06:22] [SPEAKER_05]: they they have such a strong love for the game and they want to compete

[00:06:26] [SPEAKER_05]: that you know for me it's gonna be a very easy transition for sure.

[00:06:31] [SPEAKER_04]: How does how is that work as far as creating that dynamic with your with

[00:06:34] [SPEAKER_04]: your players because golf's a little bit different than other sports team

[00:06:37] [SPEAKER_04]: sports per se because it is technically individual but you still put out a

[00:06:41] [SPEAKER_04]: five a five team front tell me the dynamic there as far as you know one

[00:06:45] [SPEAKER_04]: evaluating new players I'm sure you know you can look at scores from last

[00:06:49] [SPEAKER_04]: year and do some evaluation but how does a new coach evaluate her roster

[00:06:53] [SPEAKER_04]: just showing up two weeks ago.

[00:06:55] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah so kind of probably similar to what you've done but looking at

[00:07:00] [SPEAKER_05]: previous stats that definitely helps but they've been playing a ton this

[00:07:05] [SPEAKER_05]: summer so I've been able to see scores and keep track of them they've

[00:07:08] [SPEAKER_05]: had great tournaments over the course of the summer so that's really really

[00:07:13] [SPEAKER_05]: promising and super exciting but we actually played against each other last

[00:07:16] [SPEAKER_05]: year over in in Vegas so I was able to see their scores there obviously

[00:07:21] [SPEAKER_05]: you mentioned the injury so I wasn't able to see Kendall but you know just

[00:07:27] [SPEAKER_05]: looking at the team their scores over the summer that really helps me kind

[00:07:31] [SPEAKER_05]: of judge where we're gonna be.

[00:07:33] [SPEAKER_05]: I think we're in a great spot we have a couple of freshmen coming in

[00:07:36] [SPEAKER_05]: that they're ready to get going I just saw them today so you know

[00:07:41] [SPEAKER_05]: overall I'm just I'm very very excited for everybody on the team

[00:07:44] [SPEAKER_05]: they've been playing a ton this summer and having great scores over

[00:07:47] [SPEAKER_05]: the course of the summer.

[00:07:48] [SPEAKER_04]: And moving into the fall as far as practicing going how does things kind of

[00:07:52] [SPEAKER_04]: come together with this group you know what is what does that schedule look

[00:07:55] [SPEAKER_04]: like for these girls because really your season doesn't technically start

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER_04]: till spring but the fall is vital to their to their success in the

[00:08:01] [SPEAKER_04]: spring.

[00:08:02] [SPEAKER_05]: Oh big time yeah so we have five tournaments this fall and they're all

[00:08:07] [SPEAKER_05]: very very good teams really good schedule set so it's gonna be a big

[00:08:12] [SPEAKER_05]: important chunk of our time.

[00:08:14] [SPEAKER_05]: So once I get here you know in a week I guess we're gonna do some

[00:08:20] [SPEAKER_05]: qualifying we'll do practices we'll you know start workouts and all that

[00:08:23] [SPEAKER_05]: kind of stuff team meetings it'll be a lot on them but they're used to

[00:08:27] [SPEAKER_05]: it by now so they're gonna be ready to jump right in but those five

[00:08:32] [SPEAKER_05]: tournaments that will count for our ranking and this year we are adding

[00:08:37] [SPEAKER_05]: in the 500 rules so there's a couple things that are gonna come into play

[00:08:40] [SPEAKER_05]: for us and in our ranking and our season but you know overall I think

[00:08:45] [SPEAKER_05]: they're just very very excited about the level of tournaments that we're

[00:08:50] [SPEAKER_05]: playing in and competing in so it's just gonna up their game and even

[00:08:54] [SPEAKER_05]: those who don't get to travel the first tournament or two they're gonna be

[00:08:58] [SPEAKER_05]: at home they're gonna be practicing and working hard and they want to get

[00:09:01] [SPEAKER_05]: in the lineup they want to push themselves so you know everybody on

[00:09:05] [SPEAKER_05]: the team from one to nine they're gonna be pushing it hard so it'll be

[00:09:08] [SPEAKER_05]: good.

[00:09:09] [SPEAKER_04]: Coach one part there was the 500 rule can you kind of break that down

[00:09:13] [SPEAKER_04]: because that's news to me can you break that down to me kind of explain

[00:09:16] [SPEAKER_04]: that to me?

[00:09:17] [SPEAKER_05]: Yes so at the end of the season in order to go postseason you do have

[00:09:21] [SPEAKER_05]: to be above 500 so your win loss record which for golf is it's a

[00:09:26] [SPEAKER_05]: little crazy you know my previous school I think we're 144 and 21 so

[00:09:34] [SPEAKER_05]: it's something that you just have to keep an eye on throughout the

[00:09:37] [SPEAKER_05]: season so but once you set your schedule that's it you can't add or

[00:09:41] [SPEAKER_05]: subtract anything so it's gonna be tough but you know as long as we're

[00:09:45] [SPEAKER_05]: beating the teams that we need to beat that's all that matters once we

[00:09:49] [SPEAKER_05]: get to conference again if you win conference you do go postseason no

[00:09:53] [SPEAKER_05]: matter what so there's a lot of avenues for us to go postseason it's

[00:09:57] [SPEAKER_05]: just something that probably this first year I think a lot of coaches

[00:10:01] [SPEAKER_05]: are gonna be kind of treading the water a little bit and seeing what

[00:10:04] [SPEAKER_05]: doesn't work just trial and error I guess.

[00:10:08] [SPEAKER_04]: Okay well go back there on you talk about your fall schedule and you got

[00:10:12] [SPEAKER_04]: quite the host schools like Kentucky, Louisville, Vanderbilt you're going

[00:10:15] [SPEAKER_04]: all the way to Denver and then of course you're in Knoxville with

[00:10:18] [SPEAKER_04]: the with Tennessee those are the host institutions so you obviously be

[00:10:20] [SPEAKER_04]: going up against plenty other institutions as well but I know in a

[00:10:24] [SPEAKER_04]: release earlier that you had said that this is a stacked fall and it's

[00:10:28] [SPEAKER_04]: gonna be a real test for your girls.

[00:10:30] [SPEAKER_05]: Yes so we're gonna see some of the top teams in the country just at the

[00:10:36] [SPEAKER_05]: beginning which is awesome because that's who we would see postseason so

[00:10:39] [SPEAKER_05]: it's a great test and it'll be a good show for us you know I think

[00:10:44] [SPEAKER_05]: we'll be right there we're gonna be competitive I don't see any reason for

[00:10:48] [SPEAKER_05]: us to you know intimidated or anything like that just because they

[00:10:52] [SPEAKER_05]: have a little bit bigger name maybe for some so yeah I'm excited it's

[00:10:57] [SPEAKER_05]: gonna be a good good field it'll be a great opportunity for us to jump up in

[00:11:01] [SPEAKER_05]: the rankings all the above so it's a great opportunity for us.

[00:11:07] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm sure you'd agree that playing with a greater level of

[00:11:10] [SPEAKER_04]: competition just always seems to elevate your as much like golf does

[00:11:13] [SPEAKER_04]: it's a very mental game and just being surrounded by that kind of

[00:11:16] [SPEAKER_04]: competition just elevates it.

[00:11:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Oh definitely yeah the better competition that you're around just

[00:11:22] [SPEAKER_05]: the better off you're going to be anyway so you know we always like

[00:11:26] [SPEAKER_05]: to rise the occasion and I think we're gonna do that this whole year this

[00:11:30] [SPEAKER_05]: whole fall even into the spring the spring is gonna be a good schedule we

[00:11:35] [SPEAKER_05]: haven't quite posted that just yet still working on it a little bit but

[00:11:38] [SPEAKER_05]: you know we're gonna continue this good strong field schedule into the

[00:11:43] [SPEAKER_05]: spring as well.

[00:11:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And I know you're still kind of feeling things out and having met some

[00:11:48] [SPEAKER_04]: of the girls I know you mentioned that you had gone to lunch with them

[00:11:50] [SPEAKER_04]: is there anyone that you kind of that sticks out like because golf again

[00:11:54] [SPEAKER_04]: is an interesting sport as far as you're your own individual but are any

[00:11:58] [SPEAKER_04]: leaders kind of sticking out to anyone about the team that you just kind of

[00:12:01] [SPEAKER_04]: stands out at first.

[00:12:03] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah so Abby she has a big leadership role here on campus she's in SAC

[00:12:09] [SPEAKER_05]: she's been doing a phenomenal job Ella actually has reached out quite a bit

[00:12:14] [SPEAKER_05]: she kind of sets the team group chat and stuff like that and she had a

[00:12:20] [SPEAKER_05]: ton of questions at lunch so she has a lot of personality.

[00:12:24] [SPEAKER_05]: But honestly every single one of them just had like a cool unique personality

[00:12:28] [SPEAKER_05]: to him so I'm just excited to get to know him a little bit better and we're

[00:12:33] [SPEAKER_05]: gonna spend a lot of time together so I'll get to know them very quickly

[00:12:37] [SPEAKER_05]: but I guess just right off the bat those two were you know pretty

[00:12:41] [SPEAKER_05]: energetic and a lot of personality off the get go.

[00:12:45] [SPEAKER_04]: And Ella was a she broke a freshman program record with her average

[00:12:49] [SPEAKER_04]: strokes last year just slightly over 71 and her being a sophomore now

[00:12:53] [SPEAKER_04]: it's kind of it's good to see that level of enthusiasm from someone so young.

[00:12:59] [SPEAKER_05]: Definitely and you can just tell she's a player that wants to just get

[00:13:03] [SPEAKER_05]: better and better she is not going to let up no matter what so you know I

[00:13:08] [SPEAKER_05]: haven't seen her play but I can just tell from her personality that's just

[00:13:11] [SPEAKER_05]: the type of golfer we're gonna see.

[00:13:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely and talked about the freshmen the two freshmen coming in I've got

[00:13:17] [SPEAKER_04]: Bradley Krause who's coming in from Kingston and then Caroline Pardue

[00:13:20] [SPEAKER_04]: who's just down the road at Providence Christian Academy.

[00:13:23] [SPEAKER_04]: You've got a two time state champion in Pardue and then a state runner up.

[00:13:28] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell me a little bit about those two I know you just said you just met them.

[00:13:31] [SPEAKER_04]: One thing it's different again when you have them commit prior with the

[00:13:34] [SPEAKER_04]: old coach now you've got the new coach you know where do they kind of

[00:13:38] [SPEAKER_04]: fit into the whole dynamic of the roster.

[00:13:42] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah they fit in very well.

[00:13:44] [SPEAKER_05]: I mean they're great recruits.

[00:13:46] [SPEAKER_05]: I'm very very excited to have them as freshmen.

[00:13:48] [SPEAKER_05]: You know Carolina she's local.

[00:13:52] [SPEAKER_05]: She's had a really really successful junior career.

[00:13:55] [SPEAKER_05]: She's played in some of the biggest tournaments you can as a junior so

[00:13:59] [SPEAKER_05]: and like he said state champs all that kind of stuff I mean that's just

[00:14:02] [SPEAKER_05]: you know huge huge things to add to their resume.

[00:14:06] [SPEAKER_05]: So I don't see any issue with either one of them coming in and jumping

[00:14:09] [SPEAKER_05]: into the college world.

[00:14:12] [SPEAKER_05]: You know it's obviously somewhat of a little bit of a challenge you know for

[00:14:16] [SPEAKER_05]: I mean with their backgrounds I don't see that being an issue.

[00:14:19] [SPEAKER_05]: I think they're going to jump in.

[00:14:21] [SPEAKER_05]: They're going to be highly competitive.

[00:14:23] [SPEAKER_05]: I know they want to play.

[00:14:25] [SPEAKER_05]: I know they want to get in there right away.

[00:14:26] [SPEAKER_05]: They're kind of just itching right now.

[00:14:28] [SPEAKER_05]: Just talking to him today.

[00:14:30] [SPEAKER_05]: So I'm very very excited to have those two on the team.

[00:14:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Yeah.

[00:14:34] [SPEAKER_04]: I was going to ask you how do you prepare young girls like that for

[00:14:38] [SPEAKER_04]: that transition because I know that they both have a pedigree of junior

[00:14:41] [SPEAKER_04]: golfers very high but how do you prepare them for that next level because

[00:14:44] [SPEAKER_04]: it happens at all sports.

[00:14:46] [SPEAKER_04]: You're the best at where you are and then you go to the next level and now

[00:14:49] [SPEAKER_04]: you're you're facing the best of everyone else from where they're from.

[00:14:52] [SPEAKER_04]: So how do you prepare those young players.

[00:14:54] [SPEAKER_05]: True.

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER_05]: It's always tough.

[00:14:56] [SPEAKER_05]: And honestly it's a lot to deal with them and their you know

[00:15:02] [SPEAKER_05]: eagerness to compete.

[00:15:03] [SPEAKER_05]: It's tough because you know some of these seniors are 21 22 years old.

[00:15:07] [SPEAKER_05]: They have a lot of years and a lot of experience on them but that's also

[00:15:11] [SPEAKER_05]: the cool thing for freshmen right.

[00:15:13] [SPEAKER_05]: They don't really know what they're getting into.

[00:15:16] [SPEAKER_05]: They don't understand the situation completely so they're kind of coming

[00:15:19] [SPEAKER_05]: into it just ready and excited.

[00:15:23] [SPEAKER_05]: So and I think that's both of them.

[00:15:25] [SPEAKER_05]: I think they're just going to come in and like I said they played in

[00:15:29] [SPEAKER_05]: those tournaments and those those yardages are what we see in college.

[00:15:33] [SPEAKER_05]: So it's not going to be a big difference for them.

[00:15:36] [SPEAKER_05]: The only thing it would just be you know traveling adding in school

[00:15:41] [SPEAKER_05]: adding in a college degree to that.

[00:15:43] [SPEAKER_05]: That's just the stuff that they're going to have to get used to and you

[00:15:47] [SPEAKER_05]: know as a coach that's where I come in.

[00:15:48] [SPEAKER_05]: I try to help them as best as I can you know navigate those those crazy

[00:15:52] [SPEAKER_05]: roads and the unknowns that we're going to come into.

[00:15:56] [SPEAKER_05]: But on the golf course I think they're going to do perfectly well.

[00:16:00] [SPEAKER_04]: Good stuff coach before we finish up our call here I just wanted to get

[00:16:04] [SPEAKER_04]: your take on your expectations this year.

[00:16:07] [SPEAKER_04]: I know that like I said you finished the program finished seventh in

[00:16:10] [SPEAKER_04]: conference USA last year.

[00:16:12] [SPEAKER_04]: You're returning your top score as well as Kendall Manor coming back from

[00:16:15] [SPEAKER_04]: injury I hope at least that's I assume that would be the status.

[00:16:18] [SPEAKER_04]: What are your expectations for this year what's considered a

[00:16:21] [SPEAKER_04]: successful year for year one.

[00:16:23] [SPEAKER_05]: Yeah great question.

[00:16:25] [SPEAKER_05]: You know a lot of people have asked me that and I have really really

[00:16:29] [SPEAKER_05]: high expectations I think so which is a good thing in my opinion you

[00:16:35] [SPEAKER_05]: know our goal we want to win a tournament this year.

[00:16:39] [SPEAKER_05]: I think that's very achievable.

[00:16:41] [SPEAKER_05]: I've seen the schedule that we're going to have you know but the

[00:16:45] [SPEAKER_05]: biggest thing is I really want us to grow as a team and I want that

[00:16:48] [SPEAKER_05]: culture to be set just for years to come.

[00:16:51] [SPEAKER_05]: And I we have the seniors we have the juniors we have those

[00:16:54] [SPEAKER_05]: upperclassmen to set that for us so I'm not worried about that at

[00:16:58] [SPEAKER_05]: all I just you know I hope that transitions onto the golf course

[00:17:01] [SPEAKER_05]: very easily which I think it will.

[00:17:05] [SPEAKER_05]: But you know personally for me I definitely want to get to

[00:17:08] [SPEAKER_05]: conference and you know I want to disrupt a lot of things at

[00:17:11] [SPEAKER_05]: conference so I know all those teams that we play I've played

[00:17:14] [SPEAKER_05]: against them years before.

[00:17:16] [SPEAKER_05]: So I know they're all very talented but we're just as

[00:17:20] [SPEAKER_05]: talented like you said we have players coming back from

[00:17:23] [SPEAKER_05]: injury we have new incoming freshmen we have kind of just

[00:17:26] [SPEAKER_05]: like a new fun outlook just with my coaching style.

[00:17:30] [SPEAKER_05]: So I think we're going to come in and surprise a ton of

[00:17:34] [SPEAKER_05]: people which I'm very very excited about.

[00:17:36] [SPEAKER_05]: So you know for me finishing you know in that top part of

[00:17:41] [SPEAKER_05]: the field at conference that's something that I think we all

[00:17:44] [SPEAKER_05]: will want from this team.

[00:17:46] [SPEAKER_05]: And you know what I do think there's a chance that we're

[00:17:49] [SPEAKER_05]: going to go out there and we could win it.

[00:17:51] [SPEAKER_05]: So I wouldn't put anything past us.

[00:17:54] [SPEAKER_05]: I think it's going to be a very good good fun year for

[00:17:56] [SPEAKER_05]: us and I'm just excited to get it started.

[00:17:59] [SPEAKER_04]: It's great to hear coach and a lot of us are certainly

[00:18:02] [SPEAKER_04]: excited for you in your first year here and as you get

[00:18:05] [SPEAKER_04]: settled in and we're excited to see again what some of this

[00:18:07] [SPEAKER_04]: young talent is capable of doing and look towards a

[00:18:10] [SPEAKER_04]: conference championship in your near future.

[00:18:13] [SPEAKER_04]: So coach I appreciate you taking the time to join us

[00:18:15] [SPEAKER_04]: and we hope to hear from you again in the spring.

[00:18:18] [SPEAKER_05]: Perfect thank you for having me I really appreciate it.

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[00:18:54] [SPEAKER_04]: We are now joined by long tenure cross country

[00:18:56] [SPEAKER_04]: track and field coach who has spent the last 15

[00:18:59] [SPEAKER_04]: season with the Blue Raiders going into his

[00:19:01] [SPEAKER_04]: second season as head coach.

[00:19:02] [SPEAKER_04]: We are previewing his cross country squad and a little

[00:19:04] [SPEAKER_04]: bit into his indoor track and field squad joining us

[00:19:07] [SPEAKER_04]: is head coach Keith Vroman coach how you doing?

[00:19:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm doing fantastic.

[00:19:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Excellent stuff coach well as I said they were

[00:19:15] [SPEAKER_04]: going to preview a little bit into your cross

[00:19:16] [SPEAKER_04]: country indoor track and field season but one

[00:19:19] [SPEAKER_04]: thing just to kind of get it off the top here

[00:19:21] [SPEAKER_04]: Dean Hayes was it was announced over the

[00:19:23] [SPEAKER_04]: summer that he would be inducted into the

[00:19:26] [SPEAKER_04]: MTSU Hall of Fame and you are part of the

[00:19:29] [SPEAKER_04]: back half of his career and obviously the end of

[00:19:31] [SPEAKER_04]: his life but Dean Hayes has left his mark on

[00:19:35] [SPEAKER_04]: MTSU track and field and you were a part of

[00:19:37] [SPEAKER_04]: that and I'd love to hear your little anecdote

[00:19:40] [SPEAKER_04]: if you have one or a little bit on Dean Hayes

[00:19:42] [SPEAKER_04]: for that matter.

[00:19:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Well I love my time with Dean Hayes.

[00:19:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Miss him to this day but he was a great

[00:19:50] [SPEAKER_02]: mentor for me.

[00:19:53] [SPEAKER_02]: We worked together for since 2003 we've been

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_02]: together.

[00:19:56] [SPEAKER_02]: I was a GA to begin with and then came in

[00:20:00] [SPEAKER_02]: full time assistant and worked my way up.

[00:20:02] [SPEAKER_02]: But so our time together has been invaluable

[00:20:06] [SPEAKER_02]: with the recruiting side of stuff with coaching

[00:20:08] [SPEAKER_02]: side of stuff with life side of stuff.

[00:20:12] [SPEAKER_02]: Couldn't ask for a better mentor for all those

[00:20:15] [SPEAKER_02]: years.

[00:20:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And he's been a big part of track and field

[00:20:18] [SPEAKER_04]: not just at MTSU but just in general he's

[00:20:21] [SPEAKER_04]: put he's left his mark in a lot of places

[00:20:23] [SPEAKER_04]: and to you talked about the recruiting side

[00:20:26] [SPEAKER_04]: of things you know as far as what he was

[00:20:28] [SPEAKER_04]: capable of doing and bringing in a lot of

[00:20:29] [SPEAKER_04]: guys international players for that

[00:20:31] [SPEAKER_04]: perspective as well.

[00:20:33] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell me how does that work.

[00:20:35] [SPEAKER_04]: What are some things in regards to what he's

[00:20:37] [SPEAKER_04]: taught you on the recruiting aspect because

[00:20:38] [SPEAKER_04]: this team always not only on the cross

[00:20:40] [SPEAKER_04]: country side but track and field as well is

[00:20:42] [SPEAKER_04]: always very successful.

[00:20:43] [SPEAKER_04]: You've got a lot of pieces that you're

[00:20:45] [SPEAKER_04]: able to piece from not only in America

[00:20:47] [SPEAKER_04]: but obviously international.

[00:20:48] [SPEAKER_04]: So what are you know what is that like as

[00:20:50] [SPEAKER_04]: far as recruiting.

[00:20:52] [SPEAKER_02]: Well you know the big thing is building

[00:20:54] [SPEAKER_02]: relationships.

[00:20:55] [SPEAKER_02]: I think Go Chase did a phenomenal job of

[00:20:57] [SPEAKER_02]: building relationships for the last 50 or

[00:21:00] [SPEAKER_02]: 57 years.

[00:21:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's about building relationships

[00:21:03] [SPEAKER_02]: building relationships with coaches and

[00:21:07] [SPEAKER_02]: teachers and just connections to other

[00:21:11] [SPEAKER_02]: places around the world bring the

[00:21:13] [SPEAKER_02]: international crew and even even

[00:21:15] [SPEAKER_02]: domestic I mean the majority of the

[00:21:17] [SPEAKER_02]: domestic recruits we receive are from

[00:21:19] [SPEAKER_02]: connections that we have in life.

[00:21:22] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm sure you're going to jump into

[00:21:23] [SPEAKER_02]: Eleanor Tao in a little bit but he

[00:21:26] [SPEAKER_02]: was an Eastern Kentucky her coach was

[00:21:28] [SPEAKER_02]: Eastern Kentucky alumni.

[00:21:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So I mean it doesn't really matter

[00:21:32] [SPEAKER_02]: where you come from.

[00:21:37] [SPEAKER_02]: Those connections you build throughout

[00:21:39] [SPEAKER_02]: life are the ones that help in the

[00:21:41] [SPEAKER_02]: recruiting process even the first

[00:21:43] [SPEAKER_02]: internationals that I recruited I

[00:21:45] [SPEAKER_02]: was teammates with international guys

[00:21:47] [SPEAKER_02]: and then when I became a coach my

[00:21:51] [SPEAKER_02]: teammates gave helped me get the

[00:21:53] [SPEAKER_02]: first international students that I

[00:21:55] [SPEAKER_02]: recruited.

[00:21:57] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm sure your current roster is

[00:21:59] [SPEAKER_04]: like you mentioned all those

[00:22:00] [SPEAKER_04]: connections and stuff like that.

[00:22:01] [SPEAKER_04]: How is the MTSU brand abroad?

[00:22:04] [SPEAKER_04]: Like is it well recognized?

[00:22:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Well it's pretty well recognized.

[00:22:09] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean I mean we get calls daily

[00:22:12] [SPEAKER_02]: from internationals.

[00:22:14] [SPEAKER_02]: We have about 15 countries currently

[00:22:17] [SPEAKER_02]: represented on a men's and women's

[00:22:19] [SPEAKER_02]: track cross country program.

[00:22:22] [SPEAKER_02]: So yeah I mean you can go pretty

[00:22:24] [SPEAKER_02]: much anywhere and meet people you

[00:22:28] [SPEAKER_02]: know.

[00:22:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely and MTSU as well I know we

[00:22:32] [SPEAKER_04]: had five represented in the Olympics

[00:22:33] [SPEAKER_04]: this last summer which is always

[00:22:35] [SPEAKER_04]: great you know as far as from that

[00:22:37] [SPEAKER_04]: perspective did you get to tune

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_04]: in?

[00:22:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sure you did but as far as

[00:22:41] [SPEAKER_04]: being a part of those athletes and

[00:22:42] [SPEAKER_04]: their preparations was that something

[00:22:44] [SPEAKER_04]: that you ever took part in?

[00:22:47] [SPEAKER_02]: Well this summer I just had a child

[00:22:48] [SPEAKER_02]: two weeks ago so during the Olympics

[00:22:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I had a baby so this summer I was

[00:22:53] [SPEAKER_02]: a little bit up I was doing other

[00:22:57] [SPEAKER_02]: things.

[00:22:58] [SPEAKER_04]: Sure sure.

[00:23:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Getting ready to have a baby and

[00:23:02] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm here today I'm not always in

[00:23:03] [SPEAKER_02]: my office right now so I'm at home

[00:23:05] [SPEAKER_02]: with my wife and newborn

[00:23:09] [SPEAKER_02]: and our other kids so this summer

[00:23:13] [SPEAKER_02]: has been a little bit different

[00:23:14] [SPEAKER_02]: than most summers so I haven't

[00:23:15] [SPEAKER_02]: really had a big part in a lot

[00:23:17] [SPEAKER_02]: of it.

[00:23:18] [SPEAKER_04]: Well I was my next part was

[00:23:20] [SPEAKER_04]: leading into that I know that

[00:23:21] [SPEAKER_04]: things have changed at home for you

[00:23:23] [SPEAKER_04]: with the new child.

[00:23:25] [SPEAKER_04]: That's one one congratulations on

[00:23:27] [SPEAKER_04]: that but to talk about it now

[00:23:30] [SPEAKER_04]: and now the lifestyle I know you

[00:23:31] [SPEAKER_04]: already have a kid but now the

[00:23:33] [SPEAKER_04]: lifestyle changing with with a

[00:23:34] [SPEAKER_04]: young one and you got the

[00:23:35] [SPEAKER_04]: cross-country fall season

[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_04]: you're going to be leaning

[00:23:37] [SPEAKER_04]: pretty heavily on the assistant

[00:23:38] [SPEAKER_04]: coaches this upcoming fall.

[00:23:41] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah when I had my when my

[00:23:44] [SPEAKER_02]: wife and I had our first child

[00:23:45] [SPEAKER_02]: in 2017 that was one of our

[00:23:47] [SPEAKER_02]: best seasons ever so hopefully

[00:23:49] [SPEAKER_02]: we can just repeat that.

[00:23:52] [SPEAKER_02]: So I wasn't here much then

[00:23:53] [SPEAKER_02]: coach Hazel here at the time

[00:23:55] [SPEAKER_02]: did a good job of driving

[00:23:57] [SPEAKER_02]: the athletes to practice and

[00:23:59] [SPEAKER_02]: they usually write the workouts

[00:24:00] [SPEAKER_02]: up or whatever and then they

[00:24:01] [SPEAKER_02]: take them and get the workouts

[00:24:03] [SPEAKER_02]: done.

[00:24:04] [SPEAKER_02]: So so yeah so and 17 coach

[00:24:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Hayes was the primary one

[00:24:09] [SPEAKER_02]: coach in the team in the

[00:24:11] [SPEAKER_02]: beginning of the season

[00:24:14] [SPEAKER_02]: and you know worked out

[00:24:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and the season that was 2017

[00:24:18] [SPEAKER_02]: was one of our best years

[00:24:19] [SPEAKER_02]: ever.

[00:24:20] [SPEAKER_04]: Well to lean into that a

[00:24:22] [SPEAKER_04]: little bit then one thing

[00:24:24] [SPEAKER_04]: that's always been a mainstay

[00:24:25] [SPEAKER_04]: for the success of the

[00:24:27] [SPEAKER_04]: cross-country track and field

[00:24:28] [SPEAKER_04]: umbrella is to be in the

[00:24:29] [SPEAKER_04]: cross-country team.

[00:24:30] [SPEAKER_04]: I know you swept last year

[00:24:31] [SPEAKER_04]: with the men's and women's

[00:24:33] [SPEAKER_04]: you're replacing a few of those

[00:24:34] [SPEAKER_04]: bodies.

[00:24:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Interested to hear your take

[00:24:37] [SPEAKER_04]: on some of those new players

[00:24:39] [SPEAKER_04]: that are going to be a part

[00:24:40] [SPEAKER_04]: of what is a successful

[00:24:41] [SPEAKER_04]: program on the cross-country

[00:24:42] [SPEAKER_04]: side.

[00:24:45] [SPEAKER_02]: Well on the men's side you

[00:24:46] [SPEAKER_02]: know we lost Hilary Camayo

[00:24:48] [SPEAKER_02]: who's been around us for

[00:24:49] [SPEAKER_02]: quite a while and won a

[00:24:50] [SPEAKER_02]: couple of championships with

[00:24:51] [SPEAKER_02]: us and and Hobb

[00:24:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Tomogeta.

[00:24:55] [SPEAKER_02]: So two of our top guys

[00:24:57] [SPEAKER_02]: Hobb was our top guy at the

[00:24:58] [SPEAKER_02]: conference championship last

[00:25:00] [SPEAKER_02]: year.

[00:25:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Those guys are difficult

[00:25:03] [SPEAKER_02]: to replace.

[00:25:04] [SPEAKER_02]: I think we've done a good

[00:25:05] [SPEAKER_02]: job. We got a transfer from

[00:25:07] [SPEAKER_02]: Alabama.

[00:25:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Alan Kiplegod who's a real

[00:25:10] [SPEAKER_02]: good steeplechase guy

[00:25:12] [SPEAKER_02]: is a freshman in

[00:25:13] [SPEAKER_02]: cross-country so hasn't

[00:25:14] [SPEAKER_02]: really proved himself yet.

[00:25:16] [SPEAKER_02]: We've got some young guys

[00:25:17] [SPEAKER_02]: trying to prove themselves

[00:25:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and then Jacinto Gaspar

[00:25:20] [SPEAKER_02]: from junior college.

[00:25:21] [SPEAKER_02]: He's a 29, 20, 10k

[00:25:23] [SPEAKER_02]: guy on the track so

[00:25:26] [SPEAKER_02]: legitimate marks on

[00:25:27] [SPEAKER_02]: the track.

[00:25:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And was with a pretty

[00:25:31] [SPEAKER_02]: successful junior college

[00:25:32] [SPEAKER_02]: program and so we look for

[00:25:33] [SPEAKER_02]: him to come in and do some

[00:25:35] [SPEAKER_02]: things and then

[00:25:36] [SPEAKER_02]: a few of our other guys

[00:25:38] [SPEAKER_02]: from last year.

[00:25:40] [SPEAKER_02]: Carmelo Canizarro

[00:25:41] [SPEAKER_02]: and Juan Lucas de la Fuente

[00:25:45] [SPEAKER_02]: were hoping to get them

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_02]: progressed.

[00:25:47] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll slowly progress

[00:25:48] [SPEAKER_02]: throughout the season.

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_02]: We usually start off a

[00:25:50] [SPEAKER_02]: little bit slow and then

[00:25:52] [SPEAKER_02]: on the women's side.

[00:25:56] [SPEAKER_02]: Losing Piri Sanga, losing

[00:25:58] [SPEAKER_02]: your true number one is

[00:26:00] [SPEAKER_02]: obviously again hard to

[00:26:01] [SPEAKER_02]: replace but we've done a

[00:26:04] [SPEAKER_02]: good job recruiting.

[00:26:06] [SPEAKER_02]: In January, Odelia

[00:26:08] [SPEAKER_02]: Jeppchumba just loves

[00:26:11] [SPEAKER_02]: running which is amazing

[00:26:13] [SPEAKER_02]: to have and if you

[00:26:14] [SPEAKER_02]: look at Faith Nyathe from

[00:26:15] [SPEAKER_02]: where she was her first

[00:26:17] [SPEAKER_02]: year with us she went

[00:26:18] [SPEAKER_02]: from 36 minutes in 10k

[00:26:20] [SPEAKER_02]: to 33 minutes this year

[00:26:22] [SPEAKER_02]: so had huge improvements

[00:26:24] [SPEAKER_02]: from one season of

[00:26:25] [SPEAKER_02]: being with us and so I

[00:26:27] [SPEAKER_02]: only expect her cross

[00:26:28] [SPEAKER_02]: country to be even better.

[00:26:30] [SPEAKER_02]: And then we have a

[00:26:32] [SPEAKER_02]: transfer the Conference

[00:26:34] [SPEAKER_02]: USA champion in the

[00:26:35] [SPEAKER_02]: 10k from UTEP.

[00:26:36] [SPEAKER_02]: Sandra Miles here.

[00:26:39] [SPEAKER_02]: Game changers.

[00:26:41] [SPEAKER_02]: She's also a freshman

[00:26:42] [SPEAKER_02]: than Nancy Mile who

[00:26:44] [SPEAKER_02]: was a scorer in the

[00:26:46] [SPEAKER_02]: 10k in Conference USA.

[00:26:50] [SPEAKER_02]: Progressing got in our

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER_02]: top five list of all time

[00:26:52] [SPEAKER_02]: for 10k running 34s as

[00:26:54] [SPEAKER_02]: a freshman is pretty solid.

[00:26:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And so the depth is there

[00:26:59] [SPEAKER_02]: and then you got Eleanor

[00:27:00] [SPEAKER_02]: Tau coming back who had

[00:27:01] [SPEAKER_02]: a phenomenal freshman year

[00:27:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and then Prillage Chikara

[00:27:07] [SPEAKER_02]: that came out of junior

[00:27:08] [SPEAKER_02]: college is also another

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_02]: threat.

[00:27:10] [SPEAKER_02]: We'll see how she does

[00:27:11] [SPEAKER_02]: in cross country.

[00:27:12] [SPEAKER_02]: She really hasn't had

[00:27:13] [SPEAKER_02]: the development yet so

[00:27:14] [SPEAKER_02]: not sure whether she's

[00:27:16] [SPEAKER_02]: ready for this or not

[00:27:17] [SPEAKER_02]: but she's a really good

[00:27:18] [SPEAKER_02]: track runner so

[00:27:21] [SPEAKER_02]: 815 meter runner.

[00:27:23] [SPEAKER_02]: So that team is

[00:27:24] [SPEAKER_02]: the best group of ladies

[00:27:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I've ever had at MTSU.

[00:27:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, I'm mostly using

[00:27:30] [SPEAKER_04]: this as a sound bite

[00:27:31] [SPEAKER_04]: for a pronunciation key

[00:27:33] [SPEAKER_04]: whenever I start doing

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_04]: my rate of wrap ups

[00:27:34] [SPEAKER_04]: later on in the year

[00:27:35] [SPEAKER_04]: for you guys.

[00:27:36] [SPEAKER_04]: So that was that's great

[00:27:37] [SPEAKER_04]: information from that

[00:27:38] [SPEAKER_04]: perspective.

[00:27:40] [SPEAKER_04]: But to cut cut us back

[00:27:41] [SPEAKER_04]: to the cross country

[00:27:43] [SPEAKER_04]: talk I mentioned there

[00:27:44] [SPEAKER_04]: how successful you've had

[00:27:46] [SPEAKER_04]: you know, four men's

[00:27:48] [SPEAKER_04]: titles recently and five

[00:27:49] [SPEAKER_04]: women's titles.

[00:27:50] [SPEAKER_04]: What how is it?

[00:27:51] [SPEAKER_04]: How are you able to be

[00:27:52] [SPEAKER_04]: so successful at that

[00:27:54] [SPEAKER_04]: specific sport

[00:27:55] [SPEAKER_04]: that is cross country,

[00:27:56] [SPEAKER_04]: which is what it's the

[00:27:58] [SPEAKER_04]: 8K for the men

[00:27:59] [SPEAKER_04]: and is it 6K for women?

[00:28:01] [SPEAKER_04]: How are you able to be

[00:28:02] [SPEAKER_04]: so successful that year

[00:28:03] [SPEAKER_04]: in and year out?

[00:28:05] [SPEAKER_02]: Not easy.

[00:28:09] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah,

[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_02]: hardest part is just

[00:28:11] [SPEAKER_02]: trying to get them

[00:28:12] [SPEAKER_02]: all ready at the right time.

[00:28:13] [SPEAKER_02]: So actually a couple

[00:28:14] [SPEAKER_02]: of years ago when we lost

[00:28:16] [SPEAKER_02]: if you look at my odd

[00:28:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and even years,

[00:28:19] [SPEAKER_02]: usually we went on the odd

[00:28:20] [SPEAKER_02]: years and lose on

[00:28:21] [SPEAKER_02]: the even years.

[00:28:22] [SPEAKER_02]: But two years ago we had

[00:28:24] [SPEAKER_02]: it's about adjustments.

[00:28:25] [SPEAKER_02]: That's what I'm kind

[00:28:26] [SPEAKER_02]: of getting to.

[00:28:27] [SPEAKER_02]: But two years ago

[00:28:28] [SPEAKER_02]: we lost them both

[00:28:29] [SPEAKER_02]: and the focus wasn't there.

[00:28:32] [SPEAKER_02]: There was a lot of issues.

[00:28:34] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, that was

[00:28:35] [SPEAKER_02]: a year Cochese died as well.

[00:28:36] [SPEAKER_02]: So, I mean,

[00:28:37] [SPEAKER_02]: there's a lot of things

[00:28:38] [SPEAKER_02]: that come into play that year,

[00:28:40] [SPEAKER_02]: but they just want to focus.

[00:28:43] [SPEAKER_02]: Maybe I screwed up

[00:28:44] [SPEAKER_02]: training a little bit,

[00:28:45] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's really hard

[00:28:46] [SPEAKER_02]: to try to narrow it down.

[00:28:47] [SPEAKER_02]: So I can be honest with you.

[00:28:48] [SPEAKER_02]: I took that I took that season.

[00:28:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I went back and looked at it

[00:28:51] [SPEAKER_02]: and made made an adjustment

[00:28:53] [SPEAKER_02]: later in the season.

[00:28:54] [SPEAKER_02]: Basically, it was basically

[00:28:55] [SPEAKER_02]: the same group of athletes

[00:28:57] [SPEAKER_02]: and that adjustment

[00:28:59] [SPEAKER_02]: for last year worked out.

[00:29:02] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, the

[00:29:03] [SPEAKER_02]: the adjustments you have to make

[00:29:06] [SPEAKER_02]: and I know I don't write up

[00:29:08] [SPEAKER_02]: a whole season plan.

[00:29:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I probably throw it out every year

[00:29:13] [SPEAKER_02]: because I usually change it

[00:29:15] [SPEAKER_02]: and adjust it based on

[00:29:16] [SPEAKER_02]: where the team's at

[00:29:17] [SPEAKER_02]: and where the team's going

[00:29:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and how the how they're

[00:29:20] [SPEAKER_02]: reacting to the training.

[00:29:23] [SPEAKER_02]: It's very difficult

[00:29:24] [SPEAKER_02]: to get five people

[00:29:25] [SPEAKER_02]: going at the same time.

[00:29:27] [SPEAKER_02]: And other coaches find that

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_02]: and they ask me,

[00:29:29] [SPEAKER_02]: how do you do it?

[00:29:31] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't really have

[00:29:32] [SPEAKER_02]: the right answer for you.

[00:29:33] [SPEAKER_02]: It's not easy.

[00:29:35] [SPEAKER_02]: And, you know,

[00:29:36] [SPEAKER_02]: keeping them healthy

[00:29:37] [SPEAKER_02]: is not an easy task as well

[00:29:39] [SPEAKER_02]: because we're running a lot,

[00:29:42] [SPEAKER_02]: training hard

[00:29:44] [SPEAKER_02]: and we

[00:29:45] [SPEAKER_02]: try to stay healthy.

[00:29:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, these trophies

[00:29:48] [SPEAKER_02]: you see behind me

[00:29:49] [SPEAKER_02]: in the trophy case there,

[00:29:50] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, they were one

[00:29:51] [SPEAKER_02]: with five or six athletes.

[00:29:52] [SPEAKER_02]: So that means everybody stays healthy

[00:29:54] [SPEAKER_02]: because you score five.

[00:29:57] [SPEAKER_02]: And

[00:29:58] [SPEAKER_02]: last year, this year,

[00:29:59] [SPEAKER_02]: we have a little bit

[00:30:00] [SPEAKER_02]: more than five.

[00:30:01] [SPEAKER_02]: Our rosters are a little bit bigger.

[00:30:03] [SPEAKER_02]: And so hopefully it becomes easier.

[00:30:05] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if it will or not.

[00:30:07] [SPEAKER_02]: I still got to get five

[00:30:08] [SPEAKER_02]: to go at the same time.

[00:30:10] [SPEAKER_02]: And it's

[00:30:13] [SPEAKER_02]: I call it.

[00:30:14] [SPEAKER_02]: There's another interview

[00:30:15] [SPEAKER_02]: from several years ago.

[00:30:16] [SPEAKER_02]: I call the push pull system.

[00:30:17] [SPEAKER_02]: So I push them

[00:30:18] [SPEAKER_02]: and then pull them back

[00:30:19] [SPEAKER_02]: and then push them.

[00:30:20] [SPEAKER_02]: And you got to

[00:30:21] [SPEAKER_02]: you got to learn how to push them

[00:30:23] [SPEAKER_02]: and pull them at the right time,

[00:30:24] [SPEAKER_02]: I guess would be the right answer.

[00:30:26] [SPEAKER_04]: Well, that that's kind of one part

[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to touch on

[00:30:28] [SPEAKER_04]: as far as the training aspect goes.

[00:30:31] [SPEAKER_04]: When you're talking about

[00:30:32] [SPEAKER_04]: with these athletes

[00:30:32] [SPEAKER_04]: and getting things fine

[00:30:33] [SPEAKER_04]: tuned because some days your best

[00:30:35] [SPEAKER_04]: isn't the best you needed

[00:30:36] [SPEAKER_04]: for that particular tournament

[00:30:38] [SPEAKER_04]: or that particular race per se.

[00:30:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to know again,

[00:30:41] [SPEAKER_04]: you know, how do you

[00:30:43] [SPEAKER_04]: fine tune these guys

[00:30:44] [SPEAKER_04]: when you're when you're talking

[00:30:45] [SPEAKER_04]: about the variables

[00:30:46] [SPEAKER_04]: that are changing?

[00:30:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Are there any certain areas

[00:30:48] [SPEAKER_04]: that you find

[00:30:49] [SPEAKER_04]: are more successful

[00:30:50] [SPEAKER_04]: when you alter those variables,

[00:30:52] [SPEAKER_04]: say the volume of training

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_04]: that they're doing

[00:30:53] [SPEAKER_04]: or sometimes is it nutrition?

[00:30:55] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm just interested.

[00:30:56] [SPEAKER_04]: And you may even tell me

[00:30:57] [SPEAKER_04]: that it varies from

[00:30:58] [SPEAKER_04]: from individual to individual.

[00:31:02] [SPEAKER_02]: Well, it definitely

[00:31:03] [SPEAKER_02]: varies from individual to individual.

[00:31:06] [SPEAKER_02]: But I guess really

[00:31:08] [SPEAKER_02]: the bigger thing on that

[00:31:10] [SPEAKER_02]: is that in our sport,

[00:31:12] [SPEAKER_02]: the good thing with our sport

[00:31:13] [SPEAKER_02]: is I can lose every race,

[00:31:14] [SPEAKER_02]: every all season long

[00:31:16] [SPEAKER_02]: and have bad days all season long.

[00:31:19] [SPEAKER_02]: And it all matters on that one day.

[00:31:21] [SPEAKER_02]: And so sometimes

[00:31:22] [SPEAKER_02]: sometimes I'm training through

[00:31:23] [SPEAKER_02]: some of the some of the races,

[00:31:25] [SPEAKER_02]: a lot of the races we do

[00:31:26] [SPEAKER_02]: were not fresh at all.

[00:31:28] [SPEAKER_02]: I'm well known to do

[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_02]: a workout the day

[00:31:30] [SPEAKER_02]: before we actually compete.

[00:31:33] [SPEAKER_02]: But I do a lot of doubling up

[00:31:36] [SPEAKER_02]: on workouts a lot of times

[00:31:39] [SPEAKER_02]: to go back to back

[00:31:41] [SPEAKER_02]: and try to put more stress on them.

[00:31:43] [SPEAKER_02]: And then see how they respond to that

[00:31:45] [SPEAKER_02]: and see how long it takes them to recover.

[00:31:48] [SPEAKER_02]: So the recovery aspect of it

[00:31:50] [SPEAKER_02]: is based on how much mileage

[00:31:51] [SPEAKER_02]: and how much work they've done

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_02]: over the summer

[00:31:54] [SPEAKER_02]: and throughout the year.

[00:31:56] [SPEAKER_02]: So you recover faster

[00:31:58] [SPEAKER_02]: if you've done more volume of training.

[00:32:01] [SPEAKER_02]: So if you've done

[00:32:02] [SPEAKER_02]: even if it's just cardio,

[00:32:03] [SPEAKER_02]: even if it's just riding by

[00:32:05] [SPEAKER_02]: extra cardio.

[00:32:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So it's basically the Japanese

[00:32:08] [SPEAKER_02]: call it time on your feet.

[00:32:11] [SPEAKER_02]: But so it's the time on your feet

[00:32:13] [SPEAKER_02]: you can recover better.

[00:32:15] [SPEAKER_02]: And then you'll get some

[00:32:16] [SPEAKER_02]: that don't train as hard

[00:32:17] [SPEAKER_02]: as they should over the summer.

[00:32:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And then a coach gets frustrated

[00:32:20] [SPEAKER_02]: and some coaches get mad

[00:32:21] [SPEAKER_02]: and pound, pound, pound the miles.

[00:32:23] [SPEAKER_02]: My philosophy is more that

[00:32:26] [SPEAKER_02]: I need to give you more rest

[00:32:27] [SPEAKER_02]: between the hard days.

[00:32:29] [SPEAKER_02]: And I kind of learned that young

[00:32:30] [SPEAKER_02]: in my coaching career

[00:32:31] [SPEAKER_02]: when I had

[00:32:34] [SPEAKER_02]: I just one or two good athletes

[00:32:37] [SPEAKER_02]: and they didn't train

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_02]: over the summer

[00:32:39] [SPEAKER_02]: and they didn't have the volume.

[00:32:41] [SPEAKER_02]: But if I were to wait,

[00:32:43] [SPEAKER_02]: so if I do a workout on Monday,

[00:32:46] [SPEAKER_02]: I usually probably

[00:32:47] [SPEAKER_02]: couldn't get another workout

[00:32:48] [SPEAKER_02]: till Thursday or Friday

[00:32:50] [SPEAKER_02]: and then just take that time

[00:32:51] [SPEAKER_02]: of doing easier cardio running

[00:32:54] [SPEAKER_02]: cardio, riding a bike or

[00:32:57] [SPEAKER_02]: we have boost treadmills now.

[00:32:59] [SPEAKER_02]: So doing something different

[00:33:01] [SPEAKER_02]: than just running

[00:33:03] [SPEAKER_02]: and be able to do those workouts

[00:33:06] [SPEAKER_02]: is beneficial.

[00:33:08] [SPEAKER_02]: And some of them

[00:33:09] [SPEAKER_02]: would probably tell you

[00:33:10] [SPEAKER_02]: I push them a little bit too hard,

[00:33:12] [SPEAKER_02]: but that's part of the job.

[00:33:16] [SPEAKER_02]: But you got to get them.

[00:33:17] [SPEAKER_02]: You got to have rest.

[00:33:19] [SPEAKER_02]: I have five tenants.

[00:33:20] [SPEAKER_02]: Rest is one of them.

[00:33:22] [SPEAKER_02]: And I give them a day off every week,

[00:33:24] [SPEAKER_02]: which may not seem like a lot to some,

[00:33:28] [SPEAKER_02]: but I do give them a day off

[00:33:30] [SPEAKER_02]: every week guaranteed.

[00:33:33] [SPEAKER_02]: And so they got to get rested up

[00:33:35] [SPEAKER_02]: to be able to go again

[00:33:37] [SPEAKER_02]: and then go again.

[00:33:38] [SPEAKER_02]: And then some of them,

[00:33:39] [SPEAKER_02]: some of them will,

[00:33:40] [SPEAKER_02]: and then the other piece was

[00:33:41] [SPEAKER_02]: some of them will race harder

[00:33:42] [SPEAKER_02]: than they will do workouts.

[00:33:43] [SPEAKER_02]: So they'll race real hard,

[00:33:45] [SPEAKER_02]: but then they won't be able

[00:33:46] [SPEAKER_02]: to do a workout on Monday or Tuesday

[00:33:49] [SPEAKER_02]: when I want to do it.

[00:33:51] [SPEAKER_02]: And I just kind of let that stuff go

[00:33:53] [SPEAKER_02]: until the end of the season

[00:33:55] [SPEAKER_02]: and try to put it together.

[00:33:58] [SPEAKER_02]: And my main focus is getting the workouts in

[00:34:01] [SPEAKER_02]: and our workouts are tough.

[00:34:03] [SPEAKER_02]: I mean, we do 10 miles

[00:34:04] [SPEAKER_02]: with the workouts and stuff like that.

[00:34:06] [SPEAKER_02]: So on the men's side

[00:34:07] [SPEAKER_02]: and on the women's side,

[00:34:09] [SPEAKER_02]: guess you could say we probably go up to eight,

[00:34:12] [SPEAKER_02]: but it's a lot of work.

[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely.

[00:34:14] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm glad it's them, not me is what I would say.

[00:34:17] [SPEAKER_04]: But coach, as we wrap up our call here,

[00:34:20] [SPEAKER_04]: I want to hear from you the expectation

[00:34:21] [SPEAKER_04]: and you touched on it too.

[00:34:22] [SPEAKER_04]: I had it noted that you're really successful

[00:34:25] [SPEAKER_04]: in the odd number of years.

[00:34:26] [SPEAKER_04]: This is a 2024 year.

[00:34:28] [SPEAKER_04]: So tell me your expectations.

[00:34:30] [SPEAKER_04]: Should we expect another sweep this year?

[00:34:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Are we going to fall victim

[00:34:33] [SPEAKER_04]: to the even number of years?

[00:34:35] [SPEAKER_04]: What do you see with this group?

[00:34:38] [SPEAKER_02]: Putting the stress on me now.

[00:34:42] [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah, I mean, Liberty's tough

[00:34:45] [SPEAKER_02]: on both the men and the women.

[00:34:49] [SPEAKER_02]: I don't know if I'm gonna give props

[00:34:51] [SPEAKER_02]: to a lot of other teams that are here from live or not,

[00:34:55] [SPEAKER_02]: but Liberty's tough, both men and women.

[00:35:02] [SPEAKER_02]: And it'll probably be just like it was last year

[00:35:04] [SPEAKER_02]: gonna be the battle between the two of us.

[00:35:06] [SPEAKER_02]: New Mexico State was involved last year.

[00:35:07] [SPEAKER_02]: They lost four of their top five runners.

[00:35:09] [SPEAKER_02]: So I'm not sure that they're gonna be there this year

[00:35:11] [SPEAKER_02]: unless I haven't seen it yet, maybe they will,

[00:35:14] [SPEAKER_02]: but they lost four of their top five,

[00:35:15] [SPEAKER_02]: which is tough to replace.

[00:35:18] [SPEAKER_02]: And on the men's last year,

[00:35:20] [SPEAKER_02]: it was just a shootout between us and Liberty.

[00:35:23] [SPEAKER_02]: And I think you'll find that again this year on the men

[00:35:27] [SPEAKER_02]: and just got to get them ready.

[00:35:29] [SPEAKER_02]: I've seen some good things in practice.

[00:35:30] [SPEAKER_02]: So we'll see if we can get it done.

[00:35:32] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely, well, he's a man that's short and quick

[00:35:35] [SPEAKER_04]: to the point, but I think we can all read it

[00:35:37] [SPEAKER_04]: that he's confident in his team

[00:35:38] [SPEAKER_04]: and with lots to be excited about.

[00:35:40] [SPEAKER_04]: But coach, I appreciate you taking the time this fall

[00:35:42] [SPEAKER_04]: and again, taking time away from the families

[00:35:44] [SPEAKER_04]: to tell the wife, I appreciate you

[00:35:45] [SPEAKER_04]: taking the time to be here.

[00:35:47] [SPEAKER_04]: And we'll see you when indoor track and field

[00:35:49] [SPEAKER_04]: comes around.

[00:35:50] [SPEAKER_02]: All right, thank you.

[00:35:55] [SPEAKER_00]: Did you know the Blue Raider podcast has an online store?

[00:35:58] [SPEAKER_00]: You can now support your favorite podcast

[00:36:00] [SPEAKER_00]: by checking out our selection at our website,

[00:36:03] [SPEAKER_00]: blueraderpodcast.com.

[00:36:04] [SPEAKER_00]: And stay tuned for new merchandise releases

[00:36:06] [SPEAKER_00]: as we collaborate with athletes and NIL partnerships.

[00:36:10] [SPEAKER_04]: Wrapping things up as we move into our behind enemy

[00:36:13] [SPEAKER_04]: line segment where we take a peek at this week's

[00:36:15] [SPEAKER_04]: opponent on the gridiron joining

[00:36:17] [SPEAKER_04]: as a representative for Tennessee Tech,

[00:36:19] [SPEAKER_04]: his longtime radio and television play-by-play

[00:36:21] [SPEAKER_04]: voice for the Golden Eagles.

[00:36:23] [SPEAKER_04]: You can hear his coverage on 106.1 the eagle

[00:36:26] [SPEAKER_04]: this weekend.

[00:36:27] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm happy to have Dylan Bizzano.

[00:36:28] [SPEAKER_04]: How's it going Dylan?

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Hey, I'm good man.

[00:36:30] [SPEAKER_03]: Thank you for having me on.

[00:36:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Excited obviously.

[00:36:33] [SPEAKER_03]: We got football, so let's get going.

[00:36:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely, yeah.

[00:36:37] [SPEAKER_04]: And this new segment that we're premiering this year

[00:36:39] [SPEAKER_04]: on the podcast as it sounds,

[00:36:41] [SPEAKER_04]: we're just trying to get a little insight

[00:36:43] [SPEAKER_04]: into the Golden Eagles ahead of this matchup.

[00:36:46] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's gonna be quite a year for the Golden Eagles

[00:36:48] [SPEAKER_04]: as they have a new head coach.

[00:36:50] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm interested, you've been there at fall camp.

[00:36:51] [SPEAKER_04]: You've been able to speak with him.

[00:36:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell me how Coach Wilder is rubbing off there

[00:36:55] [SPEAKER_04]: in Cookville.

[00:36:57] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think there's a different energy.

[00:37:00] [SPEAKER_03]: There's just a different look and feel.

[00:37:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Obviously it comes down to what you do on the field

[00:37:05] [SPEAKER_03]: and how you perform and wins and losses

[00:37:07] [SPEAKER_03]: and everything like that.

[00:37:08] [SPEAKER_03]: But if you could give a grade for an off season

[00:37:11] [SPEAKER_03]: and the transition coming

[00:37:13] [SPEAKER_03]: and being the head coach now at Tennessee Tech,

[00:37:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean you gotta go A, A plus.

[00:37:17] [SPEAKER_03]: He has said all the right things.

[00:37:19] [SPEAKER_03]: He has done all the right things.

[00:37:20] [SPEAKER_03]: He brings kind of a presence there.

[00:37:23] [SPEAKER_03]: He talks a lot about Coach Wilder,

[00:37:25] [SPEAKER_03]: the process of winning.

[00:37:27] [SPEAKER_03]: And you saw it early on in the spring.

[00:37:29] [SPEAKER_03]: You saw it early on with the 6 a.m workouts

[00:37:31] [SPEAKER_03]: and in the weight room.

[00:37:33] [SPEAKER_03]: And he discusses the idea of stacking days

[00:37:36] [SPEAKER_03]: and kind of the details that it takes

[00:37:39] [SPEAKER_03]: to be able to win and excel on the football field.

[00:37:43] [SPEAKER_03]: And so everything that he has said,

[00:37:45] [SPEAKER_03]: the energy that he brings,

[00:37:46] [SPEAKER_03]: you hear the word culture a lot.

[00:37:48] [SPEAKER_03]: He understands the assignment.

[00:37:50] [SPEAKER_03]: He has obviously had success at Old Dominion.

[00:37:53] [SPEAKER_03]: He had success at the FCS level.

[00:37:55] [SPEAKER_03]: I think that a lot of people around Cookville

[00:37:58] [SPEAKER_03]: and around Tennessee Tech athletics

[00:38:00] [SPEAKER_03]: are just chomping at the bit

[00:38:01] [SPEAKER_03]: because of how well everything has gone for Coach Wilder

[00:38:05] [SPEAKER_03]: and everything that he has said and done.

[00:38:08] [SPEAKER_03]: It's just, the last thing to do

[00:38:09] [SPEAKER_03]: is just see how it comes together.

[00:38:11] [SPEAKER_03]: But a lot of confidence going into the year

[00:38:13] [SPEAKER_03]: because of Coach.

[00:38:15] [SPEAKER_04]: And you could draw so many similarities

[00:38:17] [SPEAKER_04]: for what's going on in Murfreesboro

[00:38:18] [SPEAKER_04]: as what's going on in Cookville.

[00:38:19] [SPEAKER_04]: We both have new coaches

[00:38:21] [SPEAKER_04]: and even the career of the coaches themselves.

[00:38:23] [SPEAKER_04]: Like you talked about Wilder at Old Dominion,

[00:38:25] [SPEAKER_04]: familiar face to MTSU fans

[00:38:27] [SPEAKER_04]: back when Old Dominion was in Conference USA.

[00:38:29] [SPEAKER_04]: But he premiered, he won a Bahamas bowl

[00:38:31] [SPEAKER_04]: as a part of that transitional period for the Monarchs.

[00:38:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And then things kind of dwindled off

[00:38:35] [SPEAKER_04]: and he lost his opportunity there.

[00:38:37] [SPEAKER_04]: And now he's trying to make a new.

[00:38:38] [SPEAKER_04]: And as you look at that similarities there,

[00:38:42] [SPEAKER_04]: he's going back to the FCS level.

[00:38:44] [SPEAKER_04]: And I'm curious to see where your take is on that

[00:38:47] [SPEAKER_04]: because again, coaching from the FBS to the FCS,

[00:38:49] [SPEAKER_04]: there are a lot of similarities,

[00:38:50] [SPEAKER_04]: but there's also a lot of differences.

[00:38:52] [SPEAKER_04]: So as far as his culture, as you say,

[00:38:55] [SPEAKER_04]: how was he able to transition back to the FCS?

[00:38:57] [SPEAKER_03]: I think one of the things that,

[00:39:00] [SPEAKER_03]: and he said this in his opening introductory press conference

[00:39:03] [SPEAKER_03]: when he's talking about the similarities,

[00:39:05] [SPEAKER_03]: ironically, I'm pretty sure Coach Mason,

[00:39:07] [SPEAKER_03]: Coach Wilder had their press conference the exact same day.

[00:39:09] [SPEAKER_03]: So it's a little unique thing going on there.

[00:39:12] [SPEAKER_03]: But I think that he embraces FCS football.

[00:39:15] [SPEAKER_03]: He had talked about obviously when you think about bowls

[00:39:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and having to have a good enough record to make a bowl

[00:39:21] [SPEAKER_03]: and then that's kind of it.

[00:39:22] [SPEAKER_03]: I think he said in his press conference

[00:39:25] [SPEAKER_03]: how he likes the idea of the way FCS is formatted.

[00:39:28] [SPEAKER_03]: Like if you keep winning,

[00:39:29] [SPEAKER_03]: you're gonna keep playing within the playoffs.

[00:39:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Obviously we see it now a little bit more

[00:39:33] [SPEAKER_03]: with the 12 team playoff in FBS,

[00:39:35] [SPEAKER_03]: but he embraced that format

[00:39:37] [SPEAKER_03]: and you get this sense that he enjoys it

[00:39:40] [SPEAKER_03]: and wants to be a part of this level,

[00:39:43] [SPEAKER_03]: that this isn't something like,

[00:39:45] [SPEAKER_03]: okay, it's cool to be FCS,

[00:39:46] [SPEAKER_03]: but I've got eyes on an FBS situation down the line.

[00:39:50] [SPEAKER_03]: No, like this is where he wants to be.

[00:39:52] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think that step number one is embracing that,

[00:39:55] [SPEAKER_03]: which he has done up to this point.

[00:39:57] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think that the players can feel that energy,

[00:40:01] [SPEAKER_03]: feel that vibe and understand what is cool about FCS

[00:40:05] [SPEAKER_03]: is the fact that it is a playoff system.

[00:40:08] [SPEAKER_03]: So if you find a way to make the playoffs,

[00:40:09] [SPEAKER_03]: you kind of control your own destiny

[00:40:11] [SPEAKER_03]: where you don't necessarily see that in the FBS level

[00:40:14] [SPEAKER_03]: because as we just said, only 12 teams make it,

[00:40:16] [SPEAKER_03]: which is of course new this year,

[00:40:18] [SPEAKER_03]: but having that playoff system

[00:40:20] [SPEAKER_03]: is one of the really cool and unique features

[00:40:22] [SPEAKER_03]: of football at this level.

[00:40:24] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely, well, we'll talk about Wilder

[00:40:26] [SPEAKER_04]: and one of his biggest decisions coming up

[00:40:28] [SPEAKER_04]: is gonna be the quarterback situation.

[00:40:30] [SPEAKER_04]: I know when, if you look at Tennessee Tech,

[00:40:32] [SPEAKER_04]: you talk about Jordan Potts

[00:40:33] [SPEAKER_04]: and how he finished the year,

[00:40:35] [SPEAKER_04]: because Golden Eagles didn't really have a quarterback

[00:40:37] [SPEAKER_04]: at the beginning of last season,

[00:40:38] [SPEAKER_04]: but now you've got him as well as Dylan Liable,

[00:40:43] [SPEAKER_04]: Missouri transfer, national junior college runner-up.

[00:40:46] [SPEAKER_04]: He has quite the pedigree.

[00:40:47] [SPEAKER_04]: So I'm interested to hear your take,

[00:40:49] [SPEAKER_04]: because I know they had a scrimmage recently

[00:40:50] [SPEAKER_04]: and both performed.

[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, they did.

[00:40:53] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think that at this point,

[00:40:55] [SPEAKER_03]: we kind of don't know exactly which way that's gonna go.

[00:40:59] [SPEAKER_03]: And that's the fun part about it

[00:41:00] [SPEAKER_03]: is it's still two weeks out.

[00:41:01] [SPEAKER_03]: You look at Liable and what he brings to the table

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER_03]: and he looks the part.

[00:41:05] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, six-four, big arm.

[00:41:07] [SPEAKER_03]: He could throw the ball down the field.

[00:41:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Missouri obviously didn't get the opportunity

[00:41:11] [SPEAKER_03]: to play there, but you look at what he did

[00:41:13] [SPEAKER_03]: at the junior college level, Hutchinson out in Kansas.

[00:41:16] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's a very strong program.

[00:41:18] [SPEAKER_03]: I think the people who are familiar

[00:41:20] [SPEAKER_03]: with the landscape of college football

[00:41:22] [SPEAKER_03]: have heard that name before,

[00:41:24] [SPEAKER_03]: have heard that college

[00:41:25] [SPEAKER_03]: and the fact that they were

[00:41:26] [SPEAKER_03]: the junior college runner-ups in 2022.

[00:41:29] [SPEAKER_03]: So one of the things that you hear about him,

[00:41:32] [SPEAKER_03]: the coach Wilder said he was just quoted

[00:41:34] [SPEAKER_03]: at our gathering of Eagles the other night,

[00:41:37] [SPEAKER_03]: which is kind of like the end of the fall camp

[00:41:40] [SPEAKER_03]: we're down to the wire,

[00:41:42] [SPEAKER_03]: we're starting to get ready for the season.

[00:41:43] [SPEAKER_03]: He says he just keeps getting better

[00:41:46] [SPEAKER_03]: and you can see it every day in practice.

[00:41:49] [SPEAKER_03]: So obviously what he brings

[00:41:50] [SPEAKER_03]: as more of a prototypical quarterback with big arm,

[00:41:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Jordan Potts on the other hand, athletic.

[00:41:55] [SPEAKER_03]: He can move around.

[00:41:56] [SPEAKER_03]: He makes plays with his legs.

[00:41:58] [SPEAKER_03]: He also has that experience

[00:41:59] [SPEAKER_03]: having gone six games last year.

[00:42:02] [SPEAKER_03]: He started toward the tail end of the year,

[00:42:04] [SPEAKER_03]: really midway through the tail end of the year

[00:42:06] [SPEAKER_03]: as he documented.

[00:42:07] [SPEAKER_03]: So he understands how to play in the conference

[00:42:11] [SPEAKER_03]: in the Ohio Valley Big South Conference

[00:42:14] [SPEAKER_03]: understands what it takes to win.

[00:42:17] [SPEAKER_03]: He had some success.

[00:42:18] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think you have that experience with Potts,

[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_03]: which is a good thing

[00:42:21] [SPEAKER_03]: and it's just gonna be exciting to see

[00:42:23] [SPEAKER_03]: as we get closer to the game

[00:42:25] [SPEAKER_03]: and to the start of the season

[00:42:27] [SPEAKER_03]: who's actually gonna be out there

[00:42:28] [SPEAKER_03]: when it's time to play.

[00:42:30] [SPEAKER_04]: And another dynamic too

[00:42:31] [SPEAKER_04]: is the threats that your quarterbacks

[00:42:33] [SPEAKER_04]: have to throw to you.

[00:42:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Bringing in a lot of transfers out there.

[00:42:36] [SPEAKER_04]: Another one that's familiar with MTSU

[00:42:37] [SPEAKER_04]: is gonna be Jordan Yates

[00:42:39] [SPEAKER_04]: who was just recently named captain.

[00:42:41] [SPEAKER_04]: I saw the release on the tech website there.

[00:42:45] [SPEAKER_04]: He's an athlete,

[00:42:45] [SPEAKER_04]: didn't necessarily get the playing time at Sam Houston

[00:42:47] [SPEAKER_04]: but he's an athlete.

[00:42:48] [SPEAKER_04]: Sam Houston was riddled with them.

[00:42:50] [SPEAKER_04]: But I wanna hear from that perspective,

[00:42:51] [SPEAKER_04]: does that change anything?

[00:42:53] [SPEAKER_04]: Cause I know that both of those quarterbacks

[00:42:54] [SPEAKER_04]: provide something a little bit different

[00:42:55] [SPEAKER_04]: but having different weapons

[00:42:57] [SPEAKER_04]: or I would say improved weapons

[00:42:59] [SPEAKER_04]: at the wide receiver position

[00:43:01] [SPEAKER_04]: could kind of alter that decision as well.

[00:43:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And you think that in this day and age

[00:43:05] [SPEAKER_03]: with the transfer portal

[00:43:07] [SPEAKER_03]: and it is cool to have somebody like Jordan Yates

[00:43:09] [SPEAKER_03]: who is his first year at Tennessee Tech

[00:43:12] [SPEAKER_03]: and was named captain.

[00:43:13] [SPEAKER_03]: And we only have Tennessee Tech

[00:43:15] [SPEAKER_03]: does one offensive captain and it was him.

[00:43:17] [SPEAKER_03]: And the fact that he has quarterback experience

[00:43:19] [SPEAKER_03]: at Georgia Tech, he played quarterback.

[00:43:21] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think with the nature of that position

[00:43:24] [SPEAKER_03]: you're more than likely going to be a leader.

[00:43:26] [SPEAKER_03]: DJ Lincoln's is a guy,

[00:43:28] [SPEAKER_03]: a transfer from New Hampshire.

[00:43:30] [SPEAKER_03]: That's where the new Tennessee Tech

[00:43:31] [SPEAKER_03]: offensive coordinator Brian Scott came from.

[00:43:33] [SPEAKER_03]: So they have a relationship there.

[00:43:35] [SPEAKER_03]: Jay Parker, Western Illinois,

[00:43:37] [SPEAKER_03]: he's another potential weapon.

[00:43:38] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, he started his career at Austin Peay.

[00:43:41] [SPEAKER_03]: I didn't know that how this is possible

[00:43:42] [SPEAKER_03]: but he's been playing college football since 2018.

[00:43:45] [SPEAKER_03]: So you talk about a lot of experience.

[00:43:48] [SPEAKER_03]: I think though that that is from,

[00:43:51] [SPEAKER_03]: you talk about the quarterback decision

[00:43:52] [SPEAKER_03]: you talk about these new weapons.

[00:43:54] [SPEAKER_03]: There's just a lot of uncertainty

[00:43:56] [SPEAKER_03]: because we haven't seen them here with the golden eagles.

[00:43:59] [SPEAKER_03]: We haven't seen how they will perform.

[00:44:02] [SPEAKER_03]: Coach Wilder is an offensive guy.

[00:44:04] [SPEAKER_03]: He had so much success at old dominion up tempo.

[00:44:07] [SPEAKER_03]: They put a lot of points on the board.

[00:44:09] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think there's a lot of intrigue in that.

[00:44:12] [SPEAKER_03]: You can see on paper,

[00:44:13] [SPEAKER_03]: a lot of these weapons and their potential

[00:44:15] [SPEAKER_03]: but there's only one way to find out for sure.

[00:44:18] [SPEAKER_03]: Whereas defensively a lot of returning talent.

[00:44:22] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think we maybe know what to expect

[00:44:24] [SPEAKER_03]: a little bit more in that regard

[00:44:25] [SPEAKER_03]: but you take what coach Wilder brings to the table.

[00:44:29] [SPEAKER_03]: You take the resumes of a lot of these new additions

[00:44:31] [SPEAKER_03]: and there's reason for optimism offensively.

[00:44:34] [SPEAKER_04]: And take off that a little bit,

[00:44:36] [SPEAKER_04]: your transition there to defense.

[00:44:38] [SPEAKER_04]: You talk about the talent that you returned there,

[00:44:41] [SPEAKER_04]: the interior of that front seven

[00:44:42] [SPEAKER_04]: is gonna be one of the best

[00:44:43] [SPEAKER_04]: not only in the big South OVC conference

[00:44:46] [SPEAKER_04]: or however they wanna word it, but the FCS as well.

[00:44:49] [SPEAKER_04]: I mean, that's a strong unit.

[00:44:50] [SPEAKER_04]: You talk about Austin Swofford

[00:44:51] [SPEAKER_04]: that's gonna be there Daniel Rickert.

[00:44:53] [SPEAKER_04]: That's another kid, local kid.

[00:44:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Tell me about that front seven.

[00:44:56] [SPEAKER_04]: It's gonna be real tough to run the ball against.

[00:44:58] [SPEAKER_03]: Well, that was the bread and butter

[00:44:59] [SPEAKER_03]: for the golden eagles last season.

[00:45:01] [SPEAKER_03]: Obviously anytime you have a coaching changing

[00:45:03] [SPEAKER_03]: and you look at the record from Tennessee Tech,

[00:45:06] [SPEAKER_03]: you'll think, oh, okay, I guess it didn't work out

[00:45:08] [SPEAKER_03]: just overall, but really defensively

[00:45:11] [SPEAKER_03]: that was one of the best units

[00:45:13] [SPEAKER_03]: not just in the conference, but in FCS

[00:45:15] [SPEAKER_03]: because there is a lot of experience

[00:45:16] [SPEAKER_03]: and it starts up front like he documented.

[00:45:19] [SPEAKER_03]: When you think of a Daniel Rickert who was named

[00:45:21] [SPEAKER_03]: captain, you think of Swofford

[00:45:22] [SPEAKER_03]: at the linebacker position, captain Hudson Tucker

[00:45:25] [SPEAKER_03]: who had six sacks last year as well

[00:45:27] [SPEAKER_03]: on that defensive line.

[00:45:29] [SPEAKER_03]: There was a chance to get to the quarterback

[00:45:31] [SPEAKER_03]: a lot last year.

[00:45:32] [SPEAKER_03]: Those players are only gonna get better

[00:45:35] [SPEAKER_03]: with another year under their belt.

[00:45:37] [SPEAKER_03]: Sam Williamson is just an awesome coach,

[00:45:40] [SPEAKER_03]: defensive line coach.

[00:45:41] [SPEAKER_03]: He's been with the golden eagles forever.

[00:45:42] [SPEAKER_03]: He's in his 18th season.

[00:45:44] [SPEAKER_03]: Everybody loves playing for him.

[00:45:45] [SPEAKER_03]: He brings an energy.

[00:45:46] [SPEAKER_03]: He's able to develop that sort of talent

[00:45:48] [SPEAKER_03]: and you and I both know defense starts up front

[00:45:52] [SPEAKER_03]: and anytime you can bring pressure

[00:45:53] [SPEAKER_03]: Tennessee Tech was able to do that a lot last year.

[00:45:56] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think that when Coach Wilder

[00:45:58] [SPEAKER_03]: that was one of the things that he mentioned

[00:46:00] [SPEAKER_03]: when he took this job that he loved defensively

[00:46:03] [SPEAKER_03]: the potential of this team,

[00:46:05] [SPEAKER_03]: his role offensively to bring in all that talent

[00:46:08] [SPEAKER_03]: and to scheme and make it work in a certain way.

[00:46:11] [SPEAKER_03]: But because you're bringing back all of those players

[00:46:14] [SPEAKER_03]: who had just awesome, awesome years last year,

[00:46:17] [SPEAKER_03]: you would think going into the season

[00:46:19] [SPEAKER_03]: there's no reason to believe

[00:46:20] [SPEAKER_03]: that you can't have a duplicate performance

[00:46:22] [SPEAKER_03]: that we saw in 2023 defensively.

[00:46:25] [SPEAKER_04]: And to build on that too,

[00:46:27] [SPEAKER_04]: I know you also returned an All-American

[00:46:28] [SPEAKER_04]: in the secondary.

[00:46:31] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, Tim Koutras and he, you know,

[00:46:33] [SPEAKER_03]: a ball hawk sort of a safety.

[00:46:36] [SPEAKER_03]: He hits hard as well.

[00:46:37] [SPEAKER_03]: He had four interceptions last year.

[00:46:39] [SPEAKER_03]: Again, experience.

[00:46:40] [SPEAKER_03]: He's somebody who's played a lot of college football

[00:46:43] [SPEAKER_03]: and I think that's important.

[00:46:44] [SPEAKER_03]: He was named a captain as well.

[00:46:46] [SPEAKER_03]: So you have the three captains of Swafford,

[00:46:49] [SPEAKER_03]: Rickard and Koutras on the defensive side of the equation.

[00:46:52] [SPEAKER_03]: So anytime you're able to get that pressure up front

[00:46:54] [SPEAKER_03]: it makes things easier for the secondary.

[00:46:56] [SPEAKER_03]: But Tim Koutras pre-season All-American,

[00:46:58] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, that's somebody that Tech-It should

[00:47:00] [SPEAKER_03]: lean heavy on this season.

[00:47:02] [SPEAKER_03]: And like I just said,

[00:47:03] [SPEAKER_03]: with some of the other players up front,

[00:47:05] [SPEAKER_03]: there's no reason to think

[00:47:06] [SPEAKER_03]: that he's not gonna have an awesome year as well.

[00:47:09] [SPEAKER_04]: One thing to appreciate about the upcoming matchup

[00:47:11] [SPEAKER_04]: for on MTSU side of things

[00:47:12] [SPEAKER_04]: is the fact that we're gonna be playing up against,

[00:47:14] [SPEAKER_04]: as you mentioned, a top FCS defensive program.

[00:47:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I think it's great for MTSU's perspective

[00:47:19] [SPEAKER_04]: because we have a lot of question marks

[00:47:21] [SPEAKER_04]: on our offensive side of things.

[00:47:23] [SPEAKER_04]: So that's gonna be a great test

[00:47:24] [SPEAKER_04]: for Bodie Reader and Derek Mason alike.

[00:47:26] [SPEAKER_04]: And we talked about the good.

[00:47:29] [SPEAKER_04]: I wanna hear a little bit about

[00:47:30] [SPEAKER_04]: some of the bad with Tennessee Tech.

[00:47:31] [SPEAKER_04]: One thing that I did catch my eye

[00:47:33] [SPEAKER_04]: when I was reading through some of the media releases

[00:47:35] [SPEAKER_04]: was at the first scrimmage of fall camp,

[00:47:38] [SPEAKER_04]: 30 guys sat that one out,

[00:47:40] [SPEAKER_04]: whether it was for soft tissue or for rest

[00:47:42] [SPEAKER_04]: or for whatever it may be.

[00:47:43] [SPEAKER_04]: You can't help but think

[00:47:44] [SPEAKER_04]: that could be a glaring issue.

[00:47:46] [SPEAKER_04]: Is that something that maybe Wilder's

[00:47:47] [SPEAKER_04]: taking an approach of let's just load management

[00:47:50] [SPEAKER_04]: is kind of the fancy word we use nowadays?

[00:47:52] [SPEAKER_04]: Or are they really running that thin

[00:47:54] [SPEAKER_04]: at this late in fall?

[00:47:56] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think that obviously you hear his quotes

[00:48:01] [SPEAKER_03]: in some of the releases that you read online

[00:48:04] [SPEAKER_03]: and then also just some of the videos

[00:48:05] [SPEAKER_03]: that he put out after the last scrimmage,

[00:48:08] [SPEAKER_03]: which was on Saturday.

[00:48:10] [SPEAKER_03]: Not great, you don't obviously like to hear

[00:48:12] [SPEAKER_03]: 30 players going into a season.

[00:48:15] [SPEAKER_03]: But I do think that the saving grace

[00:48:17] [SPEAKER_03]: and kind of the good news in that is,

[00:48:19] [SPEAKER_03]: hey, we're still like two weeks away.

[00:48:20] [SPEAKER_03]: I think a lot of uncertainty.

[00:48:23] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't know exactly who the players are.

[00:48:26] [SPEAKER_03]: We don't necessarily know how bad

[00:48:28] [SPEAKER_03]: some of these injuries are,

[00:48:29] [SPEAKER_03]: but there's no doubt about it.

[00:48:30] [SPEAKER_03]: The number 30 jumps out at you

[00:48:33] [SPEAKER_03]: and to have it happen this late in camp,

[00:48:36] [SPEAKER_03]: still that situation going on.

[00:48:39] [SPEAKER_03]: But I think one of the great things

[00:48:41] [SPEAKER_03]: about Coach Wilder is I don't see him using that

[00:48:44] [SPEAKER_03]: as necessarily an excuse that,

[00:48:46] [SPEAKER_03]: hey, look, you still have to go out there

[00:48:48] [SPEAKER_03]: with who you have

[00:48:49] [SPEAKER_03]: and he talks about the process of winning

[00:48:51] [SPEAKER_03]: and then it's just part of the game.

[00:48:52] [SPEAKER_03]: It's football and if it's gonna happen,

[00:48:55] [SPEAKER_03]: you'd like to see it still two weeks out

[00:48:58] [SPEAKER_03]: and we'll just kind of see going in

[00:49:00] [SPEAKER_03]: and in that first game against middle

[00:49:02] [SPEAKER_03]: what it exactly looks like.

[00:49:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think I'm kind of as interested

[00:49:06] [SPEAKER_03]: is everybody is okay, who is it exactly

[00:49:09] [SPEAKER_03]: and how bad is it?

[00:49:10] [SPEAKER_03]: And only time will tell.

[00:49:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely.

[00:49:13] [SPEAKER_04]: And it's gonna be an exciting matchup

[00:49:15] [SPEAKER_04]: coming up this Saturday with a great environment.

[00:49:17] [SPEAKER_04]: I'm sure with people traveling from Cookeville,

[00:49:19] [SPEAKER_04]: plenty of talent from the mid state

[00:49:20] [SPEAKER_04]: represented on both sides.

[00:49:22] [SPEAKER_04]: Like I said, a really exciting environment,

[00:49:24] [SPEAKER_04]: tailgating scene there,

[00:49:25] [SPEAKER_04]: they're doing a party in the Grove

[00:49:27] [SPEAKER_04]: for those that might be coming down to Cookeville,

[00:49:28] [SPEAKER_04]: check out the new thing that MTSU is doing.

[00:49:31] [SPEAKER_04]: Derek Mason's been a lots of spearhead,

[00:49:32] [SPEAKER_04]: a lot of those things.

[00:49:33] [SPEAKER_04]: But before we finish up our call here, Dylan,

[00:49:35] [SPEAKER_04]: I wanna hear your perspective.

[00:49:37] [SPEAKER_04]: It's gonna be a tough matchup,

[00:49:38] [SPEAKER_04]: no doubt for the Golden Eagles.

[00:49:40] [SPEAKER_04]: I wanna know what would it take

[00:49:42] [SPEAKER_04]: for them to pull one out here in Murfreesboro?

[00:49:46] [SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I think for starters,

[00:49:48] [SPEAKER_03]: for starters, there's a lot of excitement

[00:49:51] [SPEAKER_03]: going into this game.

[00:49:52] [SPEAKER_03]: I mean, this is my 12th season at Tennessee Tech.

[00:49:54] [SPEAKER_03]: And when I first got here in the first few years,

[00:49:57] [SPEAKER_03]: all you heard about was,

[00:49:58] [SPEAKER_03]: well, middle Tennessee and Tennessee Tech used rivalry.

[00:50:01] [SPEAKER_03]: And I was like, okay, I guess I've been proximity.

[00:50:03] [SPEAKER_03]: And then you realize, no, wait,

[00:50:04] [SPEAKER_03]: they used to both be in the OVC.

[00:50:07] [SPEAKER_03]: And all you have to do is YouTube,

[00:50:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Tennessee Tech, middle Tennessee men's basketball.

[00:50:12] [SPEAKER_03]: And you will see some wild videos.

[00:50:15] [SPEAKER_03]: I encourage everybody to do that

[00:50:16] [SPEAKER_03]: and understand the nature of this rivalry,

[00:50:18] [SPEAKER_03]: which is of course something that I didn't really understand

[00:50:21] [SPEAKER_03]: because the two schools really don't play each other

[00:50:24] [SPEAKER_03]: outside of, okay, baseball a lot.

[00:50:26] [SPEAKER_03]: I know women's basketball familiar,

[00:50:28] [SPEAKER_03]: but football, 12th season, I haven't seen it.

[00:50:31] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think first of all, from that perspective,

[00:50:33] [SPEAKER_03]: there is a lot of excitement and energy for this game.

[00:50:36] [SPEAKER_03]: There's a lot of people

[00:50:37] [SPEAKER_03]: within the Tennessee Tech athletic department

[00:50:39] [SPEAKER_03]: that are juiced about the prospects

[00:50:41] [SPEAKER_03]: of getting the chance to play.

[00:50:43] [SPEAKER_03]: Middle, aware though, middle,

[00:50:45] [SPEAKER_03]: NFBS team, Tennessee Tech, NFCS team.

[00:50:47] [SPEAKER_03]: So you go into a game like this and the road is steep.

[00:50:50] [SPEAKER_03]: You understand you're gonna get a paycheck as well.

[00:50:53] [SPEAKER_03]: And that certainly helps the program.

[00:50:55] [SPEAKER_03]: And then the Golden Eagles,

[00:50:56] [SPEAKER_03]: the very next week are playing number one in FBS Georgia.

[00:50:59] [SPEAKER_03]: And then after that, you get the open date.

[00:51:01] [SPEAKER_03]: You can kind of reset, reshift,

[00:51:03] [SPEAKER_03]: go into FCS games the rest of the way.

[00:51:05] [SPEAKER_03]: But to answer your question,

[00:51:07] [SPEAKER_03]: I think number one, there's gotta be a belief.

[00:51:09] [SPEAKER_03]: Like, yeah, everybody knows the tall task ahead.

[00:51:12] [SPEAKER_03]: Anytime there's an FCS school playing an FBS school,

[00:51:15] [SPEAKER_03]: but if you don't believe that you can accomplish it,

[00:51:18] [SPEAKER_03]: if you don't believe, if you go into a game,

[00:51:20] [SPEAKER_03]: it doesn't matter who you're playing.

[00:51:22] [SPEAKER_03]: You have to go in like we can do this.

[00:51:24] [SPEAKER_03]: We can accomplish this.

[00:51:25] [SPEAKER_03]: So I think that for starters, there has to be belief.

[00:51:28] [SPEAKER_03]: And I think coach Wilder,

[00:51:29] [SPEAKER_03]: he does a great job with that because of how confident

[00:51:32] [SPEAKER_03]: and of a person and a coach that he is.

[00:51:35] [SPEAKER_03]: But then you take it kind of to the next step.

[00:51:37] [SPEAKER_03]: You have to play near flawless game.

[00:51:40] [SPEAKER_03]: I think you, of course, you have to limit your mistakes

[00:51:42] [SPEAKER_03]: and make middle earn every single thing.

[00:51:44] [SPEAKER_03]: And don't set them up with turnovers and a short field

[00:51:48] [SPEAKER_03]: and hope that if you can somehow, some way keep it close

[00:51:52] [SPEAKER_03]: that the pressure would shift to middle.

[00:51:54] [SPEAKER_03]: First game, they obviously are the favorite

[00:51:57] [SPEAKER_03]: against an FCS school, new coach, home game.

[00:52:00] [SPEAKER_03]: So you would think that if you can maybe limit

[00:52:03] [SPEAKER_03]: the mistakes early, have a break, go your way,

[00:52:06] [SPEAKER_03]: something like that, that you would have an opportunity

[00:52:09] [SPEAKER_03]: and that as the game goes,

[00:52:10] [SPEAKER_03]: maybe the pressure shifts to them.

[00:52:12] [SPEAKER_03]: I think for Tennessee Tech,

[00:52:13] [SPEAKER_03]: then you get a little bit more Xs and Os.

[00:52:16] [SPEAKER_03]: Defensively was a lot of the things that we talked about

[00:52:18] [SPEAKER_03]: and you hope that a lot of the people up front

[00:52:21] [SPEAKER_03]: and then Tim Kutres in the secondary,

[00:52:24] [SPEAKER_03]: you make a play and maybe get a key turnover

[00:52:26] [SPEAKER_03]: in a big spot and a break your way.

[00:52:29] [SPEAKER_03]: And then at that point, see where the chips fall

[00:52:31] [SPEAKER_03]: and kind of go from there.

[00:52:32] [SPEAKER_03]: A lot of excitement and a lot to look forward to

[00:52:35] [SPEAKER_03]: and we'll see what happens on the field.

[00:52:38] [SPEAKER_04]: Absolutely, a great insight there from Dilo Vizzano.

[00:52:40] [SPEAKER_04]: Again, play by play, you can hear him on 106.1,

[00:52:43] [SPEAKER_04]: the Eagle this weekend from those listening in Cookville

[00:52:45] [SPEAKER_04]: as well in surrounding areas.

[00:52:47] [SPEAKER_04]: Dylan, again, I absolutely appreciate you coming on

[00:52:50] [SPEAKER_04]: and talking about your Golden Eagles.

[00:52:51] [SPEAKER_03]: Hey, thanks man.

[00:52:52] [SPEAKER_03]: Any time how to blast and yeah, can't wait for the game.

[00:52:59] [SPEAKER_04]: Thanks for sticking around

[00:53:00] [SPEAKER_04]: to the Raider Wrap-Up portion of the episode

[00:53:02] [SPEAKER_04]: where we will review last week's scores

[00:53:04] [SPEAKER_04]: from around the athletic department

[00:53:05] [SPEAKER_04]: as well as look ahead into next week's schedule.

[00:53:08] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll get right into the action

[00:53:09] [SPEAKER_04]: talking about the Lady Raider soccer program

[00:53:11] [SPEAKER_04]: who went one and one in the week.

[00:53:12] [SPEAKER_04]: They dropped their Thursday road contest

[00:53:14] [SPEAKER_04]: in Lafayette, Louisiana against the Rage and Cajuns

[00:53:17] [SPEAKER_04]: by a score of one to five.

[00:53:19] [SPEAKER_04]: Rizui Arasaki got her first career goal

[00:53:22] [SPEAKER_04]: as a Lady Raider in that one to five loss.

[00:53:24] [SPEAKER_04]: And then on Sunday, the Lady Raiders

[00:53:25] [SPEAKER_04]: got their first win on the season

[00:53:27] [SPEAKER_04]: against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles.

[00:53:29] [SPEAKER_04]: Emma Pederson scored her second goal of the season

[00:53:31] [SPEAKER_04]: in the 10th minute with an assist from Edun Cavale.

[00:53:35] [SPEAKER_04]: Then Manon Labarge got her first goal of the season

[00:53:37] [SPEAKER_04]: at the 16th minute to take a quick two-zero lead.

[00:53:41] [SPEAKER_04]: Tennessee Tech would get a goal before the half

[00:53:43] [SPEAKER_04]: making it two-one, but it was Edun Cavale

[00:53:45] [SPEAKER_04]: in the 70th minute to push out a three-one lead

[00:53:47] [SPEAKER_04]: before finally wrapping up the match for the three-two

[00:53:50] [SPEAKER_04]: victory.

[00:53:51] [SPEAKER_04]: I give my player of the week to Edun Cavale

[00:53:52] [SPEAKER_04]: with that goal and assist on Emma Pederson's goal

[00:53:56] [SPEAKER_04]: in the 10th minute.

[00:53:57] [SPEAKER_04]: Their upcoming schedule this week,

[00:53:59] [SPEAKER_04]: they are at home against North Alabama on Thursday,

[00:54:02] [SPEAKER_04]: the 29th, and that starts at 7 p.m.

[00:54:05] [SPEAKER_04]: And then on Sunday, another home match

[00:54:07] [SPEAKER_04]: against Bellarmine on the first,

[00:54:09] [SPEAKER_04]: and that begins at 1 p.m.

[00:54:12] [SPEAKER_04]: Volleyball season finally starts with their official matches

[00:54:15] [SPEAKER_04]: after a four-zero win against Belmont

[00:54:18] [SPEAKER_04]: in an exhibition match this last Saturday.

[00:54:20] [SPEAKER_04]: They will travel all the way to Bozeman, Montana

[00:54:23] [SPEAKER_04]: at Host School, Montana State.

[00:54:25] [SPEAKER_04]: They will face off against Power Four team Washington

[00:54:27] [SPEAKER_04]: to start their season on the 31st on Saturday

[00:54:30] [SPEAKER_04]: at 4.30 p.m. local Central Time.

[00:54:33] [SPEAKER_04]: And then on Sunday, they will face

[00:54:34] [SPEAKER_04]: Host School, Montana State on the first,

[00:54:37] [SPEAKER_04]: and that is at 12 noon.

[00:54:39] [SPEAKER_04]: And then last in action is Cross Country.

[00:54:43] [SPEAKER_04]: We were able to preview them today,

[00:54:44] [SPEAKER_04]: and we look forward to their season beginning

[00:54:45] [SPEAKER_04]: this Saturday as well, all the way down in Memphis,

[00:54:48] [SPEAKER_04]: and then Memphis Twilight Classic

[00:54:50] [SPEAKER_04]: hosted by Christian Baptist University.

[00:54:53] [SPEAKER_04]: One of the few matches before their conference championship

[00:54:55] [SPEAKER_04]: is they only have four throughout the season,

[00:54:57] [SPEAKER_04]: so we look forward to seeing the results

[00:54:58] [SPEAKER_04]: and the new-look team as we were able

[00:55:02] [SPEAKER_04]: to preview in today's episode.

[00:55:03] [SPEAKER_04]: So that does it for the Raider Wrap-Up portion.

[00:55:05] [SPEAKER_04]: I appreciate you again for sticking around to the end

[00:55:07] [SPEAKER_04]: to hear about our Raiders in action this last week.

[00:55:11] [SPEAKER_04]: Again, congratulations to our winner of our raffle

[00:55:14] [SPEAKER_04]: for the giveaway for this upcoming Saturday matchup.

[00:55:16] [SPEAKER_04]: If you saw your name there at the beginning,

[00:55:18] [SPEAKER_04]: it's all post-edited, but it'll be there.

[00:55:20] [SPEAKER_04]: So you have 24 hours to respond to that,

[00:55:22] [SPEAKER_04]: or we will draw it all over again.

[00:55:24] [SPEAKER_04]: So I wanna make sure we get those tickets

[00:55:25] [SPEAKER_04]: to the right home before that matchup on Saturday.

[00:55:28] [SPEAKER_04]: But go ahead and preview our next episode

[00:55:31] [SPEAKER_04]: after our first game on Monday,

[00:55:34] [SPEAKER_04]: or excuse me, on Tuesday morning.

[00:55:35] [SPEAKER_04]: I will have Shane Pickering, a Go Middle football analyst.

[00:55:39] [SPEAKER_04]: We'll talk about what happened on Saturday's matchup

[00:55:41] [SPEAKER_04]: with Tennessee Tech.

[00:55:42] [SPEAKER_04]: Look forward to that one.

[00:55:43] [SPEAKER_04]: As well as we will have on Manon Labarge,

[00:55:46] [SPEAKER_04]: who I just mentioned there

[00:55:47] [SPEAKER_04]: for the Lady Raider soccer program.

[00:55:48] [SPEAKER_04]: We will have her on and we'll talk about her

[00:55:50] [SPEAKER_04]: All-Conference USA preseason pick.

[00:55:52] [SPEAKER_04]: And then finally wrapping it up,

[00:55:54] [SPEAKER_04]: we'll speak with Michael Katz,

[00:55:55] [SPEAKER_04]: Ole Miss beat writer for the Rebels

[00:55:58] [SPEAKER_04]: to discuss our upcoming matchup there in Oxford.

[00:56:00] [SPEAKER_04]: So next week, another exciting episode.

[00:56:03] [SPEAKER_04]: We get to break down all the stuff

[00:56:06] [SPEAKER_04]: from this first football game this Saturday,

[00:56:09] [SPEAKER_04]: as well as look forward to next Saturday's football game.

[00:56:11] [SPEAKER_04]: So I look forward to it

[00:56:13] [SPEAKER_04]: and I appreciate everyone sticking along

[00:56:14] [SPEAKER_04]: for this amount of time.

[00:56:16] [SPEAKER_04]: And I will see you guys next week.

[00:56:18] [SPEAKER_04]: And until then, go blue.