The Dean College Football team opens its season on Saturday September 4th when it hosts Fitchburg State at 12pm. (Photo. Courtesy: deancollegeblog.wordpress.com, Singer)
After not playing last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dean College Bulldogs football team is gearing up for its first season since 2019. This is the first time the team has all been together since November of 2019 and the immediate impression is that the team is excited to be back.
Head coach Stephen Tirrell explained, “A year ago at this time I was sitting in an empty office. Even though we have a ton of challenges to face to get playing, I couldn’t be more excited to be here coaching the football team and the kids are really excited to have a chance to play.” Since the team has not been together for two years, the most important foundation for Coach Tirrell is developing a family first mentality to be able to have the older players lead the way for the younger players. The Bulldogs are returning over 40% of their team from 2019. Sophomore cornerback Josh Tata is entering this season as his first playing at Dean due to there being no season last year. The Phoenix, Arizona native was gut-punched when he found out that the season was being cancelled last year. During that time off he worked out four days a week starting at 11am for about two hours to get in shape and be ready when his name is called this season. Tata is looking forward to doing his part and being a part of the team’s success this season.
Dean is coming off a 2019 season where it went 4-6 overall but was a strong 4-1 in the Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) play conference play, which led to a conference championship. The team has not forgotten about that and is trying to do it all again this season. The Bulldogs are coming into this season with a new quarterback who some Bulldog fans might remember in junior Terence “David” Curry. Curry started at Dean when coach Tirrell took over the program in 2016, but then later transferred to the University of Kansas to get a chance to play at a Division I level. After taking a year off from school and obtaining some professional level experience in the Canadian Football League, Curry has decided to come back to Dean to finish off his remaining two years left of eligibility. This comes as former Dean quarterback Terrell Watts did not return this year. Curry is already comfortable with the offense since he has the prior experience playing under coach Tirrell in 2016 at Dean. In addition, Curry also feels that new offensive coordinator Dalton Williams has a great offensive mind, and he tries to follow his lead. The Bulldogs also have a dynamic offense which includes well known players such as senior wide receiver Errol Breaux who is a returning first team all-conference player. The Bulldogs also have junior wide receiver Quintus Reid who was a second all-conference player as well. Coach Tirrell believes that redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Mason, who can also play wide receiver, is flying under the radar. Tirrell says that Mason is a hybrid player that will be very exciting to watch. On the defensive side of the ball, junior linebacker Nicholaus Grimaldi is the leader on defense. In 2019, the Valrico, Florida native took home in 2019 both a United States Collegiate Athletic Association all-football selection as well as an ECFC honorable mention all-conference.
Despite the Bulldogs winning their conference in 2019, the one side of the ball that Coach Tirrell still needs improvement from is the defense. The defense will have a challenge to face as they do not have any starters up front returning this season. Dean’s wins in 2019 tended to take place because they relied on the offense to power them through to victory. The Bulldogs only have one returning offensive lineman and defensive lineman, this makes them the youngest since Coach Tirrell’s first season at Dean. Dean’s special teams should be a lot better this season as they have a lot of dynamic kickers, punters, short snappers and long snappers which is something that they have not had since coach Tirrell arrived.
The team’s goals differ depending on who you ask, but overall they want to take it one step at a time and defend their conference championship, “There are three goals: one, win the opener to get off to a good start. The next one is to repeat as conference champions and lastly, if you win the conference and repeat as conference champions, you get an opportunity to play in the postseason. This group would like an opportunity to be the first group from Dean College in the history of the school to play in the NCAA playoff,” Coach Tirrell explained. As for the Coache’s personal goal, he wants to be able to continue to build the culture at Dean, “It’s all about building on our foundation and family. The stronger a foundation we can become, the better the program will be.”
The players’ goals differ from player to player, “The team goal for right now is to just win the opener,” senior free safety Kordell Scott mentioned. He also went on to explain what his personal goal was this season, “My personal goal is to become a team captain and have at least 30 or more solo tackles and five or more interceptions.” Scott would also like to become a team captain because he is one of the more vocal players by leading the defensive backs. He believes he is always one of the leaders as a senior that the younger players look up to. For quarterback Terence Curry, his team goals are consistent with Coach Tirrell’s in that they want to win the opening game, win the conference, and ultimately the championship. His personal goals do not differ, as he is a team player, “I just want to win because if we win then what I want will come along with it.” For junior wide receiver Quintus Reid, his personal goal is very lofty, “I want to be first team all-conference. I feel like I got snubbed last season, so I am not satisfied with that. I am also shooting for All-American.”
The Bulldogs will open their season on September 4th when they host Fitchburg State with kickoff set for 12pm.
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