NORFOLK, Va. — There's been no game action for ODU football since 2019. The Monarchs can sense that they're getting closer to "go time" with the start of preseason camp on Thursday.
Head coach Ricky Rahne noticed things a getting back a little closer to normal. After the first practice he said, "It's nice not having to to be in a mask and them being able to see how angry I am at points or how happy I am at others, so I think that's a really good thing."
And after the players got a better feel for those expressions they could do what they do best as Rahne added, "It just felt a lot more like football. It didn't feel like there was a cloud hanging over us. It felt like guys are ready to go and we're progressing towards something."
After all with the start of the season a just under a month away, Rahne thinks daily improvements are the mission, "That's the key. It is a progression. It's not going to happen overnight. We've got to continue to work every single day."
The preseason spotlight is on the quarterback competition. D.J. Mack, Hayden Wolff, and Stone Smartt are doing battle for the starting role. Offensive lineman Nick Saldiveri sounds comfortable with all of them, "I think all the guys who are competing are great guys and I think they can all sling it. I'm excited to see where it goes."
The Conference USA media picked the Monarchs to finish last in their division. ODU is not paying any attention to that. Just ask Rahne who says, "We're past what other people think about us right now. We went a whole year without playing and a lot of people had things to say and those sort of things. Right now we're about each other and our belief in each other and that's the most important thing."