“A little nervous, a little excited’ — new UD football coach starts first preseason camp

“At the end of the day, I want it to be fun,” Andrews said Wednesday at the Cronin Center on campus. “Camp can be a grind. You want to mix things up. You’re going to put the work in on the practice field, in the weight room — all the things that you’ve got to do there — but there’s a lot of teaching that goes along with our training camp, whether it’s film meetings or any type of installation meetings. There’s also a ton of other things we cover in training camp to get our players ready to have a successful season. You’re going to work hard. You’re going to study hard. But you’ve got to make it fun and do some things to shake it up and keep the guys loose.”

Dayton players reported to campus Thursday. The first practice was scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Friday at the Jerry Von Mohr Practice Field next to UD Arena. The team will put on the pads for the first time at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Dayton will hold intrasquad scrimmages at 5 p.m. Aug. 14 and 8 a.m. Aug. 19 in preparation for the season opener Sept. 2 at Illinois State.

Andrews, a 1998 UD graduate, got the job in December when Rick Chamberlin retired after a 14-year run as head coach.

“I’m a little nervous, a little excited, a little bit of everything, but it’s been good,” Andrews said. “We’ve been so busy as a staff getting ready you don’t have time to get overly nervous because you’re always just planning and thinking and trying to solve problems before they happen. But the staff spent the last couple of weeks really grinding through things. We’re excited about just getting out on the field.”

Dayton finished 8-3 overall and tied for second in the PFL with a 6-2 mark last season. It was picked to finish third in the PFL preseason poll this week.

Linebacker Nate Arthur, offensive tackle David Tkatch, defensive tackle Sam Schadek and safety Cole Hildebrand received All-PFL preseason honors. In Phil Steele’s College Football preseason magazine, placekicker Sam Webster, kick returner Luke Brenner, wide receiver Sam Bubonics and running back Michael Neel received preseason PFL honors.

Tkatch, Arthur and safety Matt Lenti, who will serve as team captains along with wide receiver Derek Willits, met with the media to talk about the preseason on Wednesday.

“I can’t wait,” Tkatch said. ”This is our first camp with the new coaching staff. I’m just super excited to see what new things they bring to the table. I know we’ll keep a lot of the same traditions that we had in previous years, but I’m really excited to see all the different new switch-ups. I think it’s going to be great for the team overall to bring in a little bit different dynamic from what we’ve had in the past.”

One of the position battles to watch is at quarterback. Dante Casciola, who started the first five games last season before suffering a season-ending broken thumb, and Cole Dow were the top two candidates in the spring.

“I don’t know who it’s going to be,” Tkatch said, “but I know that whoever we throw out there is going to be our best candidate. I know everyone’s going to be fighting for that spot for throughout the entire camp.”

Tkatch spent the summer working as an intern at an insurance brokerage in Pittsburgh. Arthur had an internship in the finance department of a pest control company in Florida. Lenti was one of 20-25 players who stayed on campus.

“There were a lot of fifth-year guys and some younger guys as well,” he said. “We were competing all summer long, making each other better in the weight room and on the field. But we’re really excited to finally hit the practice field and put some pads on.”

All the players will experience a renovated Welcome Stadium at the home opener against Central State on Sept. 9. The stadium has new seating, new turf a new press box and a new paint job among other updates.

“It looks great,” Arthur said. “We’re excited to get in there and play.”