As the Elon University football team prepares for its season opener against Duke on Aug. 28, freshman athletes are starting to navigate life on the team as well as the campus. Defensive back Tyler Hart and offensive lineman Sean Tanner arrived at training camp with different expectations, but they are each beginning to get a sense of not only being on the team, but students at Elon.
For Hart, his first experience with the football team actually came before the summer. Since he graduated high school in December, he began participating in team activities starting this January.
Hart said offseason segments such as spring ball — a period of scrimmages that occur outside the season — were helpful in becoming accustomed to the faster pace of college football.
“When I came here in January, I knew it was gonna be high intensity,” Hart said. “I used spring ball to help me get used to it.”
Those practices have also given Hart the opportunity to study the playbook. He said he knows what his assignments are, and that now it’s just a matter of executing his responsibilities whenever he’s on the field.
“It’s just time to know stuff such as down and distance, and when I should play up or drop back,” Hart said. “It’s knowing things like that within the game.”
Meanwhile, Tanner’s Elon experience started during summer, like most freshman athletes playing a fall sport. He said there were mixed emotions when he arrived on Elon’s campus for the first time.
This was Tanner’s first time in a whole new area away from his home in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. He said it felt strange to be in a brand new setting, but has since started to welcome his new surroundings.
“I was really excited, but I was also really nervous,” Tanner said. “It’s the first time living on my own, but I have embraced it. The people are very nice.”
While both players may have initially started at different times, one thing that surprised them both is the schedule surrounding team activities. Hart and Tanner each said they didn’t expect there to be a high number of different team periods, but have been impressed by the amount of structure that’s involved.
“It’s definitely more organized than when I was in high school,” Tanner said. “You have workouts at a certain time and then after that, you go to your event, and then there’s meetings. If you give me a choice to have an organized schedule, I’m gonna do it.”
Another common experience each player shares involves getting to know teammates whether they are freshman or upperclassmen.
Hart said he immediately felt accepted by most of the veterans when he first arrived in January, and credited them for helping him get up to speed.
“When I got here in January, the players welcomed me as one of their little birds,” Hart said. “They were teaching me the playbook, helping me out, and even showing me around campus. I’ve also hung out with a lot of freshmen after a few of the practices. It’s been good.”
Tanner said he lives on the same floor with two other freshmen on the team, including his roommate. He enjoys getting to interact with them on a regular basis even when the team isn’t practicing.
“My roommate is a freshman offensive lineman and the other freshman is right down the hall from me,” Tanner said. “We always pop in each other’s rooms just to say hi and mess around with each other. We’ve really been getting along.”
With the season opener on the horizon, Hart and Tanner are looking to be prepared for any time that the team will need one of them to step in.
“You never know when your number will be called,” Hart said. “I just gotta stay ready because you don’t know when your teammates are gonna be counting on you to make a play.”
The only thing that’s closer to starting than the season is fall term on Aug. 22. Both players said they are anticipating a fun start to their first college semester. Not only are they excited for their first college gameday, but they’re looking forward to their first semester at Elon.
“I’m just looking forward to friends and just the campus life,” Hart said. “Some of my teammates were telling me how it’s different in the fall, so I’m just excited to see how it is.”