With a whopping eleven transfers and six new coaches, the football program is looking more confident than ever in that these fresh faces add a new dimension to the team’s depth.
Head coach Russel Millage set the team’s priorities for this season.
“Our main goal for our team is to get into the playoffs and to just be able to work hard and be better than we were last year,” Millage said.
Players also have their own personal goals too. Senior CJ Vickers Jr. wants to win PIL defensive player of the year and hopes to take the team to the playoffs.
“I’ve always wanted to bring that to McDaniel, and I’ve brought plenty of titles to McDaniel back when I played youth,” Vickers said, “and I’ve been in this program since fourth grade, you know that’s my main goal is just to win the league.”
During the offseason the team was committed to becoming more closely knit while also improving on the field.
“I’ve been working out, and I know at least eight other guys that have been in the gym since January,” Vickers said. “This is month eight leading up to the season, and we’ve just been preparing.”
The team took a trip to Astoria over the offseason to bond more. The team also had early morning practices on the weekends to prepare for the regular season.
The team has crucial must-win games circled on their calendar if they want to reach their goals. Vickers named a few matchups that the team has their eyes on.
“Some big matchups this season are Grant, Ida B. Wells, and Roosevelt. If we win those three games, we win the league,” Vickers said.
Millage also pointed out some of the key players in the team.
“Some players that I think are going to have a standout season are Micah Hall, Terell Granberg, Tre’Marion Crawford and Jadin Jordan. He’s really explosive when you get the ball in his hands,” Millage said. “And then some of our guys that have been here like CJ Vickers Jr. and Mohamead Fofanah, and then JR Lanier, he’s a dawg.”
One of the brighter parts of the football team seems to be the wide receivers.
“We have a really nice receiver core,” Vickers said. “We just have to make something happen on offense.”
When a team goes through struggles, some people may be early to jump the gun and start to develop a lack of certainty. Defensive line coach Caleb Wells has a message for the doubters.
“Keep doubting, and we’ll do what we’ll have to do on a week-by-week basis, on a day-by-day basis to prove them wrong,” Wells said.
