As the clock struck midnight welcoming a new day in a damp Savannah summer, Earnest Wilson III and his Savannah State Tigers were working to create a new day, and era, in Savannah State football.
Wilson, in his first season as the head coach of the Tigers, began his first full practice at midnight on Thursday. The Tigers enter 2013 off of three straight 1-10 seasons.
Why did he do it?
“I just thought it would be a change of pace for the young men — something fun,” he said Thursday afternoon. “When we got going, we actually enjoyed it. Everyone was saying how fun it was. We wish we had more fans out there to watch it.”
Senior wide receiver Simon Heyward, who was the only Tiger selected to the 2013 MEAC All-Conference first team agreed.
“It was a fun experience. It was my first-ever midnight practice. We were just excited to get on the field. It had been a long time since spring.”
Wilson said priority number one for him in his early practices is creating a sense of purpose and togetherness among his Tigers.
“What I’m really trying to do is develop unity, develop a team. Getting to know the players,” he said.
“I had a chance to see who had worked out this summer and who didn’t. The culture has to change here to be a Division I program. It has to be a program where you work out all throughout the year,” he said.
Beyond day one of practice, Wilson will use the first week of practice to instill his core beliefs: “honing in on the fundamentals and techniques, teaching people how to practice, teaching people what type of effort you must have to be a competitive division I program. Those are the three goals that I always say you have to do.”
New offense
Wilson will be installing a new offense for the Tigers, similar in passing philosophy to that run by Texas Tech.
As for installing his new scheme, he paused before saying that it was “OK. When you look at it on film and you’re so used to having things click and now you gotta start all over again, and sometimes you forget how hard it will be to start all over. So that’s what happened last night. On the field, I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But then when I went back and watched the film, I was like, ‘These kids kinda got it. We just gotta keep working with.’ That’s why we have film — to see our mistakes not only as players, but as coaches.”
Heyward had the same reaction. “With us installing the new offense, it wasn’t going to look too good on the first day. But after we watched film, we (learned) we looked pretty good, but we can get better. Actually learning the offense, it’s pretty simple, but you gotta be disciplined.”
Wilson and Heyward acknowledged the long road ahead for Tiger football.
Heyward, in his final season of eligibility, is hoping to be part of a legacy at State.
“I want to help build a dynasty. That’s what me and the seniors talked about,” he said. “We want to be the stepping stones. We might can’t go to the playoffs and win a championship, but we can be the first step. And the juniors can be the next step. And so on. “
The Tigers got right back to work after their midnight Thursday practice with a walkthrough Thursday afternoon. After another day of helmets, Savannah State will add shoulder pads for Saturday’s workout and will be in full pads on Monday.
Fan appreciation day with an Open Scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, August 17th.
The Tigers begin their 2013 regular season at Georgia Southern on Aug. 31.