NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- Coming off a season that left the Monarchs disappointed, the Old Dominion football team is back on the field as spring practices opened on Tuesday.
ODU kicked off the spring session at S.B. Ballard Stadium on Tuesday afternoon with a good mix of experience and newcomers taking the field.
"In general today, I thought we did a nice job," head coach Ricky Rahne observed. "I was happy with our intensity right from the jump, right from a really dynamic warm-up, and from then on I thought we had some good intensity. Are there things we can clean up? Yeah, obviously, but I think I'll say that every practice until the history of time."
The Monarchs return starting quarterback Hayden Wolff and linebacker Jason Henderson, who led the nation in tackles in 2022. Wolff is the returning starting signal caller, but Rahne said that 2023's starter at the position has yet to be decided. Grant Wilson, a transfer from Fordham, is in the running, as is redshirt sophomore Jack Shields. While these three are currently taking reps, the full quarterback contingent won't be on campus until the fall, when freshmen and those taking part in other sports could join.
"These guys have a great opportunity with only three of them here for all of camp, that's a ton of reps and a ton of opportunities against either the first or the second string and basically throwing to every receiver, tight end and running back that we have," Rahne noted. "But they all know that they make their mark because we're always going to be looking to add talent there and try to give our team the best chance to win."
Rahne also noted that everybody at every position must earn their job each day.
It's the first spring practice for new offensive coordinator Kevin Decker, who came to Old Dominion from Fordham. His Ram offense finished 2022 averaging 608.9 yards and 48 points per game, both among the Division I leaders.
"All of our new coaches did an excellent job today," Rahne observed. "They were really coaching, they were very vocal, they coached with a lot of energy and they were very well-prepared."
ODU is coming off a 3-9 campaign that saw the Monarchs lose their last six games. Top wide receiver Ali Jennings transferred to Virginia Tech, with leading running back Blake Watson going to Memphis. 10 starters return in 2023 looking to learn from last year's struggles and put the sub-par campaign behind them.
"Shoot, I changed the way that my office looks. I felt like it was a better way to encourage the players to stop by because I was able to have my door open more often and I think it's worked," said the head coach. "We changed the way that we sit in our team meeting room because I wanted guys to be able to know different people. We changed the way that we did mini-camps so that we could compete against different guys and things like that."
Those are just some of the ways Rahne is looking to improve and accomplish things.
Old Dominion will practice several times each week leading up the annual Spring Game on April 15.
