By GERARD WELLBROCK
Hays Post
HAYS - Over 150 players were greeted with sunny and mild weather as the Fort Hays State football team held their first practice of the 2023 season Monday morning at Lewis Field.
Head coach Chris Brown said between 75 to 80 players stuck around for voluntary workouts this summer and it showed in their first practice.
"They practiced on the field today with some tempo and knowing what they were doing. I was really proud of the way they practiced today, the communication and just the things they did across the board."
The roster shows only four senior and 29 juniors and the rest underclassman. Brown says he likes the competition.
"We tell the twos to push the ones and the threes to push the twos and ones," Brown said. "You've got to have that competition day in and day out because if you don't sometimes that internal part goes away, but if that guy sitting behind you is trying to take your job, that's what we need and that's what we have right now that competition."
The Tigers are coming off a 3-8 season, their worst under Brown who says they've moved on and are focusing on the future.
"I don't care what's happened in '21 and '22, all I care about is '23 and moving forward now," Brown said. "That was before the summer even started and you can see the thought process was already gone with the things they've been working and the things they've been doing."
The Tigers continue to practice in helmets tomorrow going to shells on Wednesday. Their first full pad practice is Friday.