NORFOLK, Va. — After a (1-11) season it was time for new faces, new schemes and a whole new culture. Soon enough we'll see how effective that will all be for ODU football. The Monarchs kickoff the season on September 3 at Wake Forest.
Head coach Ricky Rahne may not be a new face anymore. After all, he's been on board for almost two years now. He's all set to game plan for the first time as the Monarchs head coach.
What kind of coach is he? Quarterback D.J. Mack, your thoughts, "A very hands on guy. For sure he's a (1-0) kind of guy. Every rep that we get he wants to make sure that we are taking advantage of the opportunity that we are getting. I feel like he coaches that way and that's the way he lives his life."
Before coming to Norfolk, Rahne was the offensive coordinator at Penn State. The Monarchs faithful are hoping that experience pays off on the scoreboard for ODU. Rahne feels like his team has the necessary weapons, "We've added some playmakers. I certainly believe in the system that we're running and the fact that it has answers for a number of different things. I also believe in the way that we game plan."
About that new scheme, quarterback Hayden Wolff thinks he and his teammates are at ease with it, "The concepts within this offense, they all makes sense. It's really easy to grasp. At the same time everything is in depth so it wasn't an overnight thing."
There is still a 3-man quarterback competition. It is still open to Mack, Wolff and Stone Smartt. Rahne makes it sound like a win-win situation, "They all have their strengths. Some are a little bit better runners, some are better passers and some are little bit of both. We've got to find that guy that operates the best and then we can always tailor the offense to whatever we need to have."
Of course, there's a new look on defense, too. Blake Seiler is the defensive coordinator. Linebacker Jordan Young is a veteran who was with the team in the lean years. He's impressed with the new faces and the new attitude, "We expect to be a team that goes out there and causes havoc. Just expect everybody to do the job and fly to the ball. Coach Seiler's big thing is perfect effort."