With the first week of practice coming to an end, UTPB head football coach Kris McCullough said the biggest thing he’s looking for in these next couple of days on the practice field will be consistency from his players.
The team began its fall camp last Wednesday as the Falcons prepare for the 2023 season.
During the next couple of days, the first-year UTPB head coach said that the players will be challenged both physically and mentally.
“Today was our sixth practice,” McCullough said during a press conference Monday at the Kirk Edwards Human Performance Center. “It was good to see some physicality out there. We told our team last night that the next two days are the biggest challenges, mentally. Tuesday, when we come in here for our team meeting and team breakfast, I guaranteed them that their bodies would be super sore. Tuesday, we’re going to go out and have a little scrimmage. We’re going to see what we’ve got, mentally. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about having one good day. It’s about having multiple good days. Our defense came out (Monday) with a fire lit and they hit pretty well. They had a lot of energy. The defensive line has stood out so far.”
Now, he’s looking to see who can be consistent.
“I don’t want to see players who will have good days and bad days or players that’ll have a good period or a bad period,” McCullough said. “I want my players to have really good days in a row. That defines champions.”
McCullough enters his first season with the Falcons having previously coached at East Central University in Ada, Okla.
Among the other things he’s preached to his players this past week at practice has been the team culture.
“I think the talent is there,” McCullough said. “There’s no question about it. The message has been culture. Culture wins. The first couple of days, every year, something happens that rears its ugly head where we have to address issues. When it happens, we’re going to have to address it and then you can really tell how good your team is going to be and how much they care about the culture. What defines your culture is when your team comes out and they want to do everything right. We shouldn’t have issues in the cafeteria. We shouldn’t have issues in the locker room. Now we can address building that culture and focus on the X’s and O’s.”
With a lot of new faces on this year’s UTPB football team, including the coaching staff, McCulloug was quick to praise how the returning players have helped lead the way for not only the new transfers but also the freshmen.
“Those returners, those leaders have done a great job of getting everyone to buy into the program,” McCullough said. “It hasn’t been easy. Freshman year is the worst year of college because they have to learn on their own. They don’t have mom or dad to wake them up in the morning. Freshman year is tough. The returning players and leaders have done a good job of leading everyone. They run the locker room. They make sure the culture is established. Our returners have done a good job of making sure everything is in the right direction.”
UTPB will play its first game Sept. 2 against Texas College at Astound Broadband Stadium in Midland.
>> VOLLEYBALL: The UTPB volleyball team returned to the floor for its first practice of the season Monday at Falcon Dome.
The Falcons enter the season under eighth-year head coach Tim Leosch.
“I’m happy to report that the UTPB volleyball season has started,” Leosch said. “Everyone reported in and had a good practice this morning. They came in on time and in shape. They’re really coachable and accomplished everything we asked of them. I’m looking forward to challenging them more this week. We come into this season with high expectations and looking to get back into the playoffs and hopefully the NCAAs.”
The Falcons are coming off an 11-16 overall, 6-10 in Lone Star Conference, record from 2022.
Loesch said there was a lot of high energy at Monday’s practice.
“Everyone was excited to start practice and not only to play volleyball but to be with their teammates,” Loesch said. “They did everything that was asked. It made me really hopeful for our season.”
He talked about the challenges that always come from the first week of practice.
“It’s pushing them but not too hard,” Loesch said. “Like I told our athletic director, nobody got hurt during the first day of practice. That’s a good thing. But we want to push them to stay in good shape and reach their potential and fight hard in games and push them to their limit and beyond. We want to push them hard but we don’t want to break them. That’s the challenge as a coach. We want to get everything done that we can in preseason but there’s only so much you can do right now.”
UTPB will begin its season Sept. 1 against Huston Tillotson in San Angelo.
The Falcons’ first game at home will be against UM-Crookston Sept. 7.
