NORFOLK, Va. — There is a lot going on for ODU football. They're hoping for a resolution to their departure from Conference USA, the new schedule is out and Tuesday was the first day of spring practice.
For 5 weeks, the Monarchs will be practicing a total of 15 times. Basically it's three practices a week with nothing happening during next week's spring break.
The spring football game is scheduled for April 9.
If you're wondering what coach Ricky Rahne is looking for in spring practice, it doesn't sound much different than any other time. He says, "I think any time you hit the practice field whether it's during the week or during spring or during camp, it's to make sure every single guy on the field gets better."
Linebacker Ryan Henry seems to be listening to his head coach when he chimes in with this, "We're just looking to get better literally every day at any part of the field, just working together making sure we hold each other accountable and just going with the mindset to win every day, just attack the day."
The Monarchs are coming off a season where they went to a bowl game and finished with a (6-7) record.
The new schedule is out. That is, the new schedule if the C-USA situation is resolved. The schedule ODU put out on Tuesday is a Sun Belt conference schedule. That should be challenging enough. Then you look at the out of conference games and the Monarchs better be ready with their "A" game.
The season opener is at home on Friday, September 2 with Virginia Tech. JMU and Liberty are other Virginia FCS schools coming to Norfolk. Early in the season ODU has road games at East Carolina and UVA.