By MAYAN PAZ
Tiger Media Network
With 23 seniors leaving, the core of the 2024 FHSU football team has gone through a long journey, and after an exciting season came to an end, it is now time for the program to rethink its course and move forward toward the next season.
FHSU went 8-3 overall and 6-3 in MIAA play, narrowly missing the NCAA DII Playoffs. Despite the disappointment of missing out on postseason play, there is nothing but pride among the team, and their minds are already set on the next season.
It’s been a few weeks since the season ended, and as the dust settled, FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown sat down to discuss the team’s performance, preparations for the next season, and the work that the veterans on the team did to help the youngsters take over. First and foremost, Brown enjoyed every moment of the season working with this group of players.
“I really enjoyed this group of young men, especially with the 23 seniors that we had on this team, just their leadership, the way they handled each day, the way our players handled each day,” Brown said. “They just came to work every single day, whether it was the weight room, whether it was a practice, whether it was meetings. They enjoyed the process of winning football games, and even though we didn’t win them all, they enjoyed that process, and they enjoyed the grind and the work, and they were just excited to be around each other.”
Brown said it was good fun to have a group of young men that brought excitement back to FHSU football and helped return to the culture of the program.
“Seeing them on a daily basis with a smile on their faces and ready to go to work, you can’t ask for a better group than that,” he said. “And hopefully, these younger guys learned from these older guys that have been here for a while the culture and the work and the grind that it takes to truly win championships and to be a championship person, day in and day out. And this group did that.”
A smooth transition into the next season will be important for the team, and Brown was noticeably proud of his players for the way they conducted themselves during the team meeting at the end of the season, as the senior players, in an emotional meeting, passed the torch to the next generation.
“Every year we have an end of the year meeting, and our seniors talk at the very end, and just to see the emotion and the hurt in their hearts and in their souls that the season was over, you can see that affect the young guys as well, and just the camaraderie that this group had,” Brown said. “They said some really good things about the grind and about intensity, about mental toughness, about physicality, about fighting through the everyday challenges of getting out of bed and going to weights in the morning and being disciplined.
“I’ve never seen it happen before. Everybody was up; there were tears, there were people hugging, and you could tell it was a true brotherhood. I think our kids felt that, and they really have learned from this group just because they’re a good group of young men.”
One example of this transition during the season was the quarterback change from Jack Dawson to Caleb Heavner. Heavner, a sophomore, was subbed in during the loss to Central Oklahoma in week five. Afterward, Heavner started in every game and showcased his abilities. Behind the scenes, it was Dawson, in what may be an uncomfortable position for an athlete, who helped Heavner to adjust to his new role, showcasing the spirit Brown was so proud of.
“To get passed up by a young man we thought was a little bit better, and to still have the character and still have the team come first beforehand – that just shows you how unselfish Jack was. He wanted his team to be successful, and he knew that Caleb, who went forward, helped us do that,” Brown said. “And he did. He took pride in that, and he did his part and his role in making sure that Caleb was prepared and ready to go. And that’s just Jack; he’s a tremendous young man who truly cares about this team, and he was a very unselfish player when what was best for this team.”
Regarding the season coming to an end without a postseason appearance, Brown said he has two games in mind that, if were to end differently, would have changed the course of the season for the Tigers. He spoke about the week three loss to Northwest Missouri State and the week eight loss to Pittsburg State, where the Tigers had a late lead until Heavner was intercepted on a batted ball with about a minute left in the game. Brown took responsibility for those losses and said the players did their best in both cases.
Going forward, with the departure of players such as running back Shane Watts, safety Mason Perez, defensive lineman Miles Menges, and many others, the team will have to find new players to lead the squad, and Brown is already focused on making a new depth chart for the next season.
“The first thing you do is look at your depth chart again, and we, as coaches, already know who’s going to start and what are we going to try to recruit for next year. I feel like we did a good job recruiting in the years past to make sure that we have the depth,” he said. “And those kids who are now backups are now ready to step in. So now the test will be in the spring to see even if they really, truly are ready. But we’ll go out and try to find a few transfers to get them here early and try to fill some holes here and there. I truly do feel like we got some kids on this team right now that if they put in the work and the time, they could be really good players for us and really help us compete next year, hopefully, win this conference championship.”
The team will now have the winter break to rest before coming back for the spring semester and getting back to practice. Spring ball is an opportunity for the players, especially when on-field snaps are up for grabs, to compete and prove that they are good enough to become starters for a winning team.
“We might be a young football team, but we also have some kids that were sophomores that a lot of people didn’t see step on the field, and I think they are going to be really good players for us too. So there’s going to be a lot of competition this spring, and that competition brings toughness, brings grit, and brings out the best in each player,” Brown said. “Either you become the best and be the guy, or you just become one of the other guys, and so I think everybody wants to play. So there’s gonna be a lot of competitions because we’re trying to step on the field and make each other better.”