Monday workout marks official beginning of preparations for 2015 season, as Bucs practice for first time in over 11 years

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2014) – On a newly lined field and in front of a gathered crowd that included students, fans, media and others, the ETSU football team and head coach Carl Torbush’s coaching staff participated in the first official practice for the new program Monday afternoon on the fields located next to the ETSU Center for Physical Activity.

With players in helmets and no shoulder pads, the team went through both individual conditioning, as well as offensive and defensive team drills.

Torbush said the day was a realization of hard work and dreaming by those wishing to see the Blue and Gold on the gridiron again.

“It feels really good doesn’t it,” Torbush said to the gathered media. “It’s an exciting time for all of us and especially because it’s been over 11 years since anyone around here has seen this. I told our players today that it’s a great moment for them because they are part of something this special.”

It had been over 3,950 days since an ETSU football team had last taken the field back on Nov. 22, 2003, and on that day following a win over The Citadel there was real reason to worry whether the program would ever return to campus.

But it did on this day.

Going through an hour and a half workout that saw the team end with an intense session of offense vs. defense, Torbush said that it is time to get to work.

“We’re teaching and their learning, and there’s a lot of work that needs to be done,” Torbush said. “I told them we want them to play like their hair is on fire. That’s the type of effort and emotion we are trying to instill in each of them.”

The Bucs will continue with practice over the next two weeks in preparation for the team’s first scrimmage, which will be held during the program’s Game Time 101 event on Saturday, Sept. 27. For more information on that event, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football link.

For more on ETSU football throughout the 2014-15 school year, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s football link.