By: Zachary Lohn
MTN Sports Reporter
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Middle Tennessee State Football Team is coming off an emotional high of defeating the Toledo Rockets in the Bahama’s Bowl this past December.
Sophomore Quarterback Nicholas Vattiato said that the win has given the team some “juice” this offseason. Vattiato thinks that the team has been building practice to practice building off the momentum of the win and it has caused the team to build bettering each other.
Sophomore Wide Receiver Jaylin Layne thinks the confidence will give them a higher goal. According to Layne, the Bahama’s Bowl victory “is something that we expect to do, not just something that we could do.”
The big obstacle for the Blue Raider’s this offseason has been the lack of numbers. Many Blue Raiders are recovering from injuries, such as Redshirt Senior Quarterback Chase Cunningham who played in eight games before suffering a season-ending injury. There are currently only seven offensive linemen participating in spring practices right now.
Even though the numbers have been low, head coach Rick Stockstill says that he has been impressed with the newcomers. Stockstill pointed out that he “has been impressed” by Junior transfer Quaterrius Tolbert who arrived in January.
Stockstill said that the low numbers are a reason for there to be no Spring Football game this year, but they have not had one for a few years. He cited that “you get more out of a practice.”
Stockstill said that there is a chance of injury in a Spring Game, and that “you want to get to summer as healthy as you can.”
The Blue Raiders are trying to continue to carry their momentum into the Summer as they are more than halfway done with spring. There is a lot of optimism around what the team can accomplish this upcoming season.