HOUGHTON, Mich. (WJMN) – The Michigan Technological University football team held its annual spring game Saturday at Curley Stadium in Houghton. The first game of the year, played in front of a large crowd, was the final round of a packed spring schedule for second-year head coach Dan Metluck.
“Everyone's healthy. We had some bruises and bruises, but for the most part we did a good job,” Metluck said. “Physically, it was good to have a spring in there. Because of our energy and the way our players were doing, we actually did some good football work whether we were participating in live practice or not. So, We are happy with that and will be in a good position going into the summer.Today was a great day with lots of participants and lots of parents and community members. Any time you can go out and play in front of a crowd, it makes it a little bit more exciting.”
The Huskies finished 5-5 in Mettluck's first season in 2023, and as they head into another offseason, there is optimism among the players about what they can accomplish in 2024. ing.
“Coach Mettlach, you know, everything is efficient. Everybody's working hard. He's growing a very tough group, which is great,” Huskies linebacker Mark Sippel said. “It's been a great, great spring. I think we're ready for the summer. We'll continue to grow as we prepare for Bemidji State in Week 0 next year. We have a lot of veterans returning this year as well. As you look at it, we have nine to 11 guys back, our starting quarterback back, and an up-and-coming running back group with a lot of experienced players. , these guys are the ones taking the initiative to take our team up a notch this spring, and it's great to see these young guys leading in the right direction.”
The scrimmage introduced the program to most of the 32 members of its freshman class and also gave it a chance to take a look at the players who will be competing for roles in training camp.
“We have 32 people in this class and 26 of them are awake today so we can get used to who is going to be in this class with us,” Mettlach said. “Introducing them to the rest of the locker room obviously gives the local fans a chance to see who they are and where they’re coming from. Defensively, the eligibility contract returns for a sixth year. We've got some guys that are tied up, so there were some spots on the D-line that we could do a little bit more work with.”
After a grueling spring practice, the game was an opportunity for the players to relax a little before the end of the school year and prepare for training camp later in the summer.
“I go into every day with the right mindset of being tough, being proactive and working hard,” Sippel said. “You know, we were doing our winter conditioning a few weeks before the spring game started, and we just had the mindset to show up and go out there every day and dominate.”
“Our work is in the first 14 practices. Today is a day where they can go out and have fun, where we aren’t always looking at them or guiding them through every move. It’s for,” Metluck said. “But for the younger players, the players who don't have a lot of game day experience, it's a chance to put themselves in a game-like atmosphere where the sticks are out. It's a live tackle and the referees are involved. There is.”
The Huskies will begin the 2024 season on Thursday, August 29th with an away game against Bemidji State.
“For the next two weeks, they will be here preparing for the exam in a week, so we don't have to do anything,” Metluck said. “We have some retirement meetings, but they handle the academic part of things. When Track A starts in the summer, we have over 40 members from the beginning, and then we meet on July 4. As soon as the day is over, we'll have the majority of the team on campus at that point. So the next three months will be big, going back to the weight room and doing a conditioning program with our strength coach. As we get closer to August, we'll start talking a little bit more about football at that point. We'll be bigger, faster and stronger over the next three months and have our players bulletproof before the season starts.”
