NORFOLK, Va. — Old Dominion University officially back on the field with fall football practice starting on Wednesday afternoon. The Monarchs with 58 new faces to the squad to go with a revamped offense for this season under new offensive coordinator Kevin Decker from Fordham University.
ODU is trying to bounce back from a rough 3-9 season in 2022 in which they their last six games. They're hoping to avoid the injury bug they had last year by adding more depth in key positions. For now the team is ready to go.
"Little mistakes, but it's the first day", says linebacker E.J. Green. "We'll get better as it goes along."
Offensive lineman, Leroy Thomas is key returning player who feels the energy within the team is getting stronger.
"Things are a little more intense", he says. "We're just ready to get after it."
For head coach Ricky Rahne, who enters his fourth season in Norfolk and feels the newcomers are coming along.
"Learning how practice. Learning to chase the ball on both sides of the ball", he said following Wednesday's practice.
The Monarchs open up the season on the road from Blacksburg as they travel to face Virginia Tech on Saturday September 2nd at 8pm.