West Virginia State's football team opened a new era in the program's history this week with the start of spring practice.
With first-year coach John Pennington and a coaching staff full of fresh faces leading that movement, the Yellow Jackets are tackling the upcoming season with a simple and succinct message - attack the day.
"That's not just the message we give them when they're out here on the football field, but that's how we want them to approach every day of their lives," Pennington said. "We know what we want to achieve, we know what we want to accomplish, so let's attack the day and go get what we want. If you come into it with the attitude that you're going to sit back and wait for it to come to you, it isn't going to happen."
Coming off a tough campaign a year ago in which the Yellow Jackets won just three games, Pennington's aim is to see this group become one of the most improved in Division II by the time the 2017 season is finished. But he and the players know the kind of improvement they seek won't happen overnight. It's a long process that began in the weight room during the winter and picks up some steam beginning now in spring practice.
"They're flying around and having fun, and that's ultimately what we need to do," Pennington said. "There are so many things from last year we need to correct and improve on, but the only thing that matters is right now.
"My other coaches have to remind me sometimes that it's an everyday process and it takes some time. They'll get it, we just have to use this time to work with them and teach them what we're trying to do."
There's plenty to work with as the staff looks at this current group of players. The Yellow Jackets lost just a handful of players to graduation and return most of their starters.
The biggest losses come on the defensive side, where they lost three of their five leading tacklers from a year ago - including All-Mountain East Conference second-team linebacker Dennis Gardeck, who finished with a team-high 111 tackles in 2016. Pennington said Gardeck, a junior last season, had left the team.
But while the defense is looking to get rolling while inserting some new faces into bigger roles under new defensive coordinator George Shehl, the offense returns a lot of firepower from a group that averaged 26.3 points and more than 400 yards per game.
Skill players like running back Juawan Etheredge and wide receivers Quinton Gray, A.J. Barrette and Tyrell Henderson are back to help provide weapons for quarterbacks Matt Kinnick and Austin Hensley as they get ready for the season.
In the first few days of practice, both sides of the ball have had some major bright spots that give the coaches a good idea of what they're going to be working with this season.
"Offensively, we're in the third year now since I've come in and we're light years ahead of where we were. Now we just have to play hard every snap, and that's something that comes with more teaching," Pennington said. "Defensively we've looked incredible with Coach Shehl, who has been doing a great job with those guys and working with them to get a new defense in.
"It's only been a couple days, but it's been really tough going up against that defense, and when both sides of the ball are challenging each other every day, that's how you're going to get better like we need to."
Since Pennington took over at the end of January, he went to work building his coaching staff. There are experienced coaches like Shehl, the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan from 2012-15, and former Fort Valley State and Charleston assistant Travis Everhart as his coordinators. He hired people like former West Virginia University running back and Glenville State assistant Quincy Wilson and former WVU linebacker Reed Williams to coach running backs and linebackers, respectively.
Pennington has surrounded himself with other coaches he trusts and, just as important, coaches who he knew would bring the type of energy needed into things like spring practice so that the Yellow Jackets could hit the ground running the way they have this week.
"That's what makes any team great is to have those guys who you can lean on and get their opinions in certain situations," Pennington said. "Our goal is to get these kids to buy in even more than they already are, find ways to communicate better to them and figure out what we need to do help make this team better.
"I've been really happy with the way these guys have been flying around the last few days, and it makes it easy when it's been as fun as it has been so far for all of us."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.