{"id":80206,"date":"2024-08-28T09:04:55","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T14:04:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=80206"},"modified":"2024-08-28T09:04:57","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T14:04:57","slug":"tiger-football-begins-2024-season-with-new-offensive-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=80206","title":{"rendered":"Tiger football begins 2024 season with new offensive scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By CAYDEN SANDERS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tiger Media Network<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While students began classes last week at Fort Hays State University, the Tiger football team has been hard at work getting ready for the season during fall camp and preseason practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

FHSU was picked fifth in the MIAA preseason poll; however, the team is worried about themselves, and being the best team they can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEveryone is competitive, and that comes down to the players themselves. We have talked about leadership with this team, making sure everyone is prepared daily to come out here and give their all,\u201d FHSU Head Coach Chris Brown said. \u201cIf you are here, you want to be the one and a star, because if not, then why are you here? Our kids know that and keep doing that; they all compete and they all want to be on the field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offensively, the Tigers welcomed Tom Ross to the coaching staff in March as the Quarterbacks coach after a stint with DI Morehead State. Ross has since been upgraded to the offensive coordinator. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe ride to get here and get settled has been a roller coaster for sure, but once I was able to get my feet set and meet the guys, it has been a fun ride,\u201d Ross said. \u201cI like it here in Hays, it’s different from what I am used to and change is good. The Hays community is so awesome and I am glad to be here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a new offensive coordinator, FHSU\u2019s playing style will change as Ross plans to implement a spread offense this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe field is 53.5 feet from sideline to sideline. We want to make the defense cover it all, and make them communicate. Whether it’s playing with tempo, motioning, or shifting to put our players in the best situation,\u201d Ross said. \u201cWhat is great about this team is the kids are having fun, they\u2019re embracing the change, they\u2019re enjoying it, and it’s fun to watch.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a lot of key pieces back from last season and the new offensive scheme, the Tigers offense has found a new life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wide receiver Trevor Watts brings back nearly 900 yards of receiving, averaging 80 yards a game, along with second team All-MIAA honors. Tight End Cale Cormany brings back 378 yards of offense and MIAA Honorable Mention tight end honors. The last key piece is quarterback Jack Dawson who threw for 2832 yards for 27 touchdowns and was a third team All-MIAA sophomore campaign. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFootball should be fun. We are still playing a game and we take it seriously but at the end of the day it should be fun,\u201d Ross said. \u201cThere is a thin line between being loose and being unfocused, and I think we’re right there where we are loose, we’re having fun, you know, and we’re having some success, and it’s good to see as a coach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the defensive side of the ball has a lot of experience back. The only position the defense had to replace was the defensive tackles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fort Hays has lineback John Johnson, returning 89 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss with 10 yards gained for the Tigers. During the off-season Johnson earned top 100 players in D2 by d2football.com. Free Saftey Mason Perez is back from his season-ending injury, during Perez\u2019s 2023 campaign, the Larned native earned 55 total tackles and one interception with five deflections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt makes my job that much easier, bringing guys back players that know our systems, and they’re comfortable in it, and they can play fast,\u201d Defensive Coordinator Cooper Harris said. \u201cOnce we understand what you’re doing, we’re able to expand on the packages that we already have and continue to progress. Obviously, having the veteran leadership is always beneficial.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since joining the coaching staff 12 seasons ago, Harris believes this is the deepest defensive squad he has seen in his time at FHSU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if it\u2019s the best defense I have had, there\u2019s obviously the potential is there and its up to the players and how we perform. We have had some very good defenses here at Fort Hays,\u201d Harris said. \u201cIf they do their job, they can be successful. Ultimately, I still keep going back to the depth we have at all positions that will make us successful this season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tigers kick off the 2024 season against Angelo State at home at 7:00 pm at Lewis Field Stadium. More information on FHSU\u2019s first game will be posted tomorrow on Tiger Media Network.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By CAYDEN SANDERS Tiger Media Network While students began classes last week at Fort Hays State University, the Tiger football team has been hard at… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":74345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":false,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3387,7349],"tags":[14199,98,1694,99,15752],"class_list":["post-80206","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-football-sports","category-sports","tag-cayden-sanders","tag-chris-brown","tag-fhsu-football","tag-football","tag-tom-ross"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/untitled60-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80206","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80206"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80206\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80208,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80206\/revisions\/80208"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/74345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80206"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80206"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80206"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}