"One of the best days we’ve had” - Vibes are great after stellar first practice

Staff Report
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Zaylin Wood described the first day of practice for MTSU Football as one of the best practices he thinks the team has had since he's been a part of it.
His quarterback, Nicholas Vattiato, went with the more vivid "phenomenal first day" when asked how he felt.
Their head coach, Rick Stockstill, went with the simple, but potent, "really, really good first day."
Any way you square it, the Blue Raiders hit the field for the first time in August 2023 camp with an extra pep in their step. The competition level was higher, the confidence, from seemingly every player on the field, was up. Seniors gave tips to freshmen on the sideline, starters cheered for their own backups during their reps.
In every measure—the Blue Raiders' chemistry, their professionalism (keeping folks off the ground in practice without pads), their work ethic—told Stockstill what he needed to know about this year's team after the first day of fall camp.
"When you get that," Stockstill said of his team's generosity to one another, "That's when you've got that championship culture."
The vibes have certainly shifted for MTSU in 2023, with momentum from two-straight bowl-winning seasons giving the returning Blue Raiders confidence, combining with the opportunity of a new look Conference USA and the demolition necessary for the new Student-Athlete Performance Center finally underway next to the practice field, to create a sense of optimism on both sides of the ball.
Nowhere was that more evident than in the 11v11 section to end practice. In recent years, the more experienced defensive unit would dominate the reps early on in August, as the offense still worked on learning the scheme of a new offensive coordinator, as was the case in both 2021 and 2022.
Now, with added experience on both sides of the trenches, plus an offense much more comfortable in Year 2 under coordinator Mitch Stewart, the competition level between the two sides was much higher, with the offense able to move the ball effectively, while the defense was still able to counter right after a big play.
"It shows how much work we have put in since the end of last season," Vattiato said. "Throughout the spring, throughout all the summer workouts, we've built a lot of chemistry and camaraderie with each other, and I think that showed today."
The growth on the offensive line in particular was a welcome sight, after a spring where Outland Trophy watchlist member Keylan Rutledge said there was a big internal emphasis in the offensive line room to be the tone setters of the team in 2023.
"We know how rocky it was last year for sure," Rutledge acknowledged. "We (came) in the spring with that hungry mentality like, 'Hey, we've got something to show.' We know that D-Line is really good, so they're going to give us a look every day. Iron sharpens iron."
From Zaylin Wood's perspective, the iron was certainly sharpened on Day 1.
"They're more mature, they want it," Wood said. "You've got guys that want to win, guys that want to work."
The veteran defensive end then smirked.
"They kind of locked me down a little bit," he admitted. "But that won't last for long."
Amid the great opening day weather, warm but not muggy, breezy yet not windy, Stockstill too said the linemen were in good shape for early in camp on both sides of the ball, with plenty of depth and competition for spots. That depth was shown all over the field, as scouts and reporters assembled scrambled through updated roster cards to spot new guys in the rotation.
One early name that stuck out—Jekail Middlebrook, a true freshman running back from Fayetteville, Ga., who had a strong enough spring that he was getting reps in the 11v11 portion of practice, a rarity for a true freshman, mainly with the second unit. Vattiato praised the Langston Hughes High School product for making an early impression.
"It was like an immediate impact, the type of hard worker he is," Vattiato said of Middlebrook's summer. "Out on Sundays, catching punts from the kickers. It just shows the type of kid he is."
There's more work ahead, no doubt. Rutledge reflected on his experience as a true freshman last season, discussing the need to pick something to improve on each practice and then "stack" the days as camp wore on.
But after one day, lots of guys have made the choice to start that stack right, Wood said.
"Everybody was locked in, everybody was playing fast," Wood said. "We've got the young guys; they're knowing what they're doing from preparing them in the summertime...This one of the best days we've had since I've been here."