Fall Camp for the Trojans Fast Approaching

Fall camp for football will start in about a month for the Dakota State football team, but the groundwork has already been laid out for this upcoming season. 

Just because it is the start of camp, does not mean it is the first time the team will meet, with summer workouts having started on June 1st. That was also when a lot of the first year players got to campus and started getting acclimated to the football team. 

Trojans Head Coach, Josh Anderson, believes that putting the work in during the summer is extremely important for those who have big hopes and expectations.

 

 

Anderson said that at this point, there is somewhat of an idea of who will be playing and where on the field, but that hasn’t stopped players in the past from winning jobs during the fall camp. 

There have been True Freshman in the past who have won starting positions during camp, although it can be difficult to rely on True Freshman players with how much getting up to speed they have to do. 

The quickest way to get the players up to speed, according to Anderson, is getting them to learn the playbook. Once they learn the playbook is when things start to “slow down” for the players. How long it takes for a young player to learn the playbook is different case-by-case, with some players being able to pick it up and learn it faster than others. 

When it comes to training camp battles, none might be more important than the quarterback position. 

The Trojans have about seven players competing for the starting job, and with plenty of talented quarterbacks on the roster, it will make for a tough competition.

 

 

With regards to who may have the upper hand, Anderson would prefer a veteran, in part due their decision making. 

 

 

If the competition is close between a veteran and a younger player, then expect the nod to go to the veteran. However, if the young player is “night-and-day” better, then the starting job goes to the best player. 

In an ideal world, starting positions, not just quarterback, will be settled after the Trojans scrimmage against Mount Marty on August 17th. However, that is not always the case, as witnessed last year when the Trojans went right up until game time before naming a starter at quarterback. 

The first game of the year is on Thursday, August 25th at home against rival Dakota Wesleyan in the Ag Bowl.