Pittsburg State Holds First Football Practice of the 2024 Season

Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is finally over. Football is here!

The Pittsburg State Gorillas held their first official practice of the 2024 football season on Wednesday, August 7.

While this might be a new season filled with new opportunities, it’s also the dawn of a new era for the defending MIAA champions.

Former defensive coordinator Tom Anthony enters his first season as head coach looking to build on the team’s prior success. While there is new leadership present, Anthony said the overall goal remains the same.

“As a coach and as a player, really, to me, you always have two goals,” Anthony said. “You want to win a conference championship, you want to win a national championship, and those are going to continue to be our two goals.”

Considering the team has recorded an overall record of 31-6 over the last three years with back-to-back conference titles to their name, those goals aren’t too far out of reach for Pittsburg State in 2024.

Senior offensive linemen Riley Teutsch is more than confident his squad can take the next step in the postseason this time around.

“Obviously, we know how to win the MIAA and we’re going to continue to press on that,” Teutsch said. “But we also have goals and stuff where we’re going to push to the next step, and that just helps us build day by day.”

To get his players in the right mindset entering the regular season, Anthony proudly displayed “1-0. The mindset of a champion” on the video board all throughout the first day of practice.

To both Anthony and his players alike, the message serves as a reminder to take things one day at a time, one rep at a time, and one game at a time.

“Daily, daily growth at a relentless effort and doing it the right way and doing it together,” Anthony said. “You know, that’s kind of our four pillars of grit, growth, relentless integrity and together. And our guys are buying into that. And it’s just, you know, stuff we got to harp on and preach each and every day.”

Alex Gaskill, senior linebacker and one of the leaders of this year’s squad, said that the veterans take that mantra to heart, trying to instill those values into the new players throughout each workout.

“Having that tough mentality, being able to do the next thing right and doing your job no matter what happens, trying to go hard through every play,” Gaskill said. “So just taking that into consideration, you know, every play, going through each detail, being focused, being able to grow, having that relentless mindset, it really just puts you in a good spot on the field, being able to trust your teammates and do what you do.”

Veterans like Gaskill will be leaned on early in the season as the team lost several contributors on both sides of the ball to graduation, including All-American tight end Devon Garrison.

According to Anthony, however, he remains confident the production won’t take a dip thanks to the talented recruiting class brought in over the offseason.

The new-look Gorillas take the field for the first time on Saturday, August 31 hosting a playoff rival in the Ferris State Bulldogs.

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