By CAYDEN SANDERS
Tiger Media Network
After an 8-3 finish last season, Fort Hays State University football missed out on a bowl game to end the year; however, the team is looking to build on last season’s accomplishments.
“The 2024 team is over. It’s about what this 2025 group does right now, and that’s the most important thing right now,” said FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown. “I think that the pieces of the puzzle are there, but the most important thing is the ownership part of it, holding guys accountable to make sure we win.”
Red-shirt freshman kicker David Arriaga working on field goals. Arriaga is a Division 1 transfer from Oklahoma State. 
Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach Tom Ross is in his second season with the Tigers. Ross works with quarterbacks in a drill. 
FHSU Football Alum, Amari Angram-Boldin, a former All-American Honorable Mention guard, gets ready for drill. Angram-Boldin received a promotion to offensive line coach after being a GA and tight ends coach. 
Junior Caleb Heavner and red-shirt freshman Mason McMinn work on a passing drill. 
Graduate Assistant Coach Hunter Brown coaches sophomore wide receiver Jabari Lewis for a drill with sophomore Safety Jakobe Smith. The drill works on pass blocking for wide receivers, while cornerbacks work on shedding blocks 
Senior safety Chandler Nixon looks toward the south endzone of Lewis Field Stadium to catch a punted ball. 
FHSU incoming transfer Gavin Meyers looks at the drill to the right. Meyers, a 2022 Hays High Graduate 2022, transfers back home from Kansas State. 
John Johnson talks with Jack Hileman after a drill. 
Defensive Line Coach Layton Hickel gives orders while defensive linemen work a drill. Hickel, a former FHSU Football player, is in his fourth season after coaching and teaching at Hays High. 
Junior Defensive-End Gaven Haselhorst coaches up other defensive linemen in a drill. 
Defensive end Jalen Williams makes a move during a drill, working on working around an offensive lineman. 
Defensive Coordinator Cooper Harris overlooks his defensive lineman during a drill. Harris enters 13th season in position. 
Sophomore Quarterback Wyatt Spexarth reads the defense as he hands the football off to Senior Running Back Travis Dixon. 
Quarterbacks signal in the play from the imaginary sideline to create in-game play calling from the sideline. 
Head Coach Chris Brown talks to players about the upcoming fall workout schedule and the academic checklist players need to get done. Brown is in his 14th season with the Tigers. 
Wide Receiver coach Al McCray is dancing to a song, while FHSU Football Alum and Graduate Assistant coach Aaron Corbin stands next to him. 
During practice, Arriaga kicks the football to the FHSU return team during drill. 
Athletic Trainer Kota Wakasa smiles while talking to the coaches, as the athletic trainers work to keep players hydrated during fall camp. 
Heavner rolls out of the pocket and throws a ball down the field during a drill. 
Cornerbacks and safeties work on punching out the football, working to create fumble opportunities. 
The offensive line works to create a hole for the running back, Curtis Douglas, to run through. Douglas is a transfer from Division 1 Kent State University.
During MIAA Media Day, the Tigers were selected third in both the media and coaches’ polls behind last year’s MIAA champion, Central Oklahoma, and Pittsburg State. While the team isn’t as worried about their ranking within the MIAA Conference, they are focusing on getting the little things right in the summer and the early stages of fall camp.
“I think we know how good we can be. There are a lot of spots where we don’t know who the starter is going to be. So that pushes everyone to solidify their spot,” Brown said. “We have been competing all summer, and I think the difference this season and last season is that this season we have a lot more guys who truly love football.”
With the season set to begin in just over two weeks, the Tigers are using all the time they can to prepare for the season.
“They are excited, focused, locked in, and you can still see that they are having fun. They are correcting one another when they need to, you see, guys talking to one another through every single play, and what they should have done. What you want in a football team right now is what we are getting,” Brown said.
FHSU signed 47 freshmen and added 17 transfers via the portal to help bolster the roster.
“I think our guys that we brought in as transfers, and also the freshmen that we have recruited, are stepping up. Those guys have been working hard in the weight room and taking the time to learn the playbook,” Brown said. “There is good competition in the secondary right now; you can see them fighting for their spots.”
In addition to the new faces putting in extra effort, many returners took extra steps over the summer to help prepare for the season, with over 70 players choosing to stay in Hays and complete summer workouts and player-led practices.
“This summer, we were in the weight room, [the film room] and throwing every weekday,” junior quarterback Caleb Heavner said. “All this work doesn’t guarantee you wins, but it puts us in the best spot to win.”
The first two practices of fall camp were helmet-only, while the team worked on the basics and technique. Last Wednesday, the Tigers added shoulder pads.
Heavner said the talent on the offensive side of the ball will be great, as FHSU retains the entire offensive line.
“It makes me feel better knowing I have a veteran offensive line. They did a phenomenal job protecting me last season, and I know they will do a phenomenal job this season,” he said. “You wouldn’t know that they were vets by the way that they are competing for a spot.”
In the skills positions, the Tigers may have lost some big names from last season, but Heavner feels this could be another great season for running backs and receivers.
“All I have heard this off-season is that we are going to lose some guys at wide receiver, and we won’t be as talented. But this season can be the most talented group that I have seen here,” Heavner said. “I even told them that talent doesn’t win you games.”
Heavner even touched on his leadership and how he wants to approach the quarterback room.
“I wouldn’t be who I [am] without Jack Dawson (transferred to Arkansas Tech); he is still one of my best friends to this day. Something he taught me was to be good to the guys in the quarterback room,” Heavner said. “He and I competed for two years, and in that time, you would have never thought that because we were best friends. I am trying to do that, and any new guys that come in.”
On the defensive side of the ball, senior linebacker John Johnson talked about the competitive nature of this season’s Tiger Team.
“Everyone is saying that we lost a lot of talent on the defense, but I am seeing guys excited to come to work, making sure that they compete for their spots on the defense,” Johnson said. “Competition, you have to love it in fall camp, we are building up a lot of positions, and I would say that both sides are getting what they need going against one another.”
While the Tigers came up short of the postseason in 2024, the goal this year is still the same in the minds of this Tiger squad.
“We have one main goal, and that is to play in December. The details are important, and you can tell in fall camp, guys are executing what they need to execute,” Johnson said.
The Tigers will host a scrimmage on Saturday at Lewis Field Stadium. FHSU’s first game of the season is against Angelo State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, at Lewis Field Stadium.