Takeaways from a jam-packed CUSA Kickoff on Tuesday.
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On Tuesday morning, the MTSU Blue Raiders, represented by Head Coach Derek Mason and Nicholas Vattiato, Brendon Harris, and Devyn Curtis, took to the podium at Conference USA Kickoff in Frisco, TX, a light 91 minute flight from Nashville.
From the jump, it has always been abundantly clear what Mason’s goals and ideas for the Blue Raiders’ program amount to. Some are more tangible, such as winning a conference championship, while others are a bit more abstract, such as the way he wants the program’s culture to be about (Spoiler, he wants it to be about the work).
“This is not a rebuild at MTSU,” Mason said at CUSA Kickoff, “I think we have a chance to compete immediately like anybody else in this conference, it’s just about how fast we can get our guys up to speed with what this conference entails because it’s a heavy lift when you look at the schedule.”
The Blue Raiders were picked to finish in fourth place by one vote over Sam Houston State and Florida International earlier in the week, and while Mason acknowledged it to be a fair ranking given the Blue Raiders past performances, he also recognizes that it’s also in part due to the strength of the conference as a whole, especially when it comes to the coaches around the league.
“When I look at the competition of this conference, the thing that’s impressive to me is the depth and the breadth of what this conference has brought in in terms of its head coaches,” he said. “We’ve all got history, and so I believe that when you look at how this conference has fared, and what you’ve seen from Liberty, what you've seen from New Mexico State, and what you’ve been able to see of MTSU and its history, Jax State as well, this conference is well represented.”
“When I look at the strength of what these teams and coaches bring to the table in terms of talent, the NFL is peppered with guys from this conference, so that lets you know and understand that we play a high level of football,” he continued, “Right now everybody is undefeated, so let's get it.”
Mason even name-dropped the big bad College Football Playoff phrase too, recognizing that the team that wins Conference USA has an outside shot at being invited as the highest ranked “Group-of-Five” conference champion.
All four men at the podium referenced the fact that MTSU brought in 59(!?) new players for this upcoming season. That number on the surface is incredible – for reference, NFL rosters carry 53 active players on any given Sunday – but the bigger challenge is incorporating all 59 new players into not just the schemes your team runs, but more importantly, getting them to buy into the culture of your program.
“With a lot of new guys there is going to be some discomfort, but really there has been no discomfort,” said Mason. “It’s been fun, it’s been functional, it’s been progressive, and it’s going to be advantageous to us because it is a tight group.”
Starting quarterback, Nicholas Vattiato, is one of the few non-newcomers, and he talked at length about how the chemistry with the new bodies on campus, specifically at wide receiver, has progressed at almost warp speed since the spring.
“Two new receivers, two smart kids, I think I understood right away the production they are going to bring to this team, and they show it everyday. They work their tails off just like everyone else on this team does, and I think they’ve brought a lot of maturity in the way they work and a lot of work ethic and shown a lot of the young guys how to do it,” Vattiato explained. “Coach talked about how you have old guys and young guys, and Omari and G coming in have been great, not just for the team as a whole..."
"...but I think they've done a great job with getting up to speed, since they are new, in the spring and throughout the summer of really working hard but also bringing guys along with them. I think that’s a credit to all the new guys too.”
MTSU’s starting signal-caller also expressed how important that his new head coach has been in acclimating everyone and bringing them together to get ready for the upcoming season that kicks off on August 31 against Tennessee Tech.
“When you look at the 59 new guys, I mean, it can be difficult at times. Not even on the field, but in the locker room, you look to your left and your right and it’s a guy you might not even know or you just met that day,” Vattiato continued, “but Coach Mason has created a great environment since the day he got here, and it’s really just helped smooth this process along. We had a great spring, summer has gone really well, and I think we’re just going to continue to build each day, and that starts with the work that we put in. Coach likes to say ‘player led, coach fed.’ Coaches can only do so much, and at some point the players have to take over and lead the team, and I think that we’ve done a really good job over the course of the summer of getting to know each other and building chemistry.”
One of those 59 new players was at the podium on Tuesday is defensive back Brendon Harris. Harris began his career at Vanderbilt in 2018 under Derek Mason before transferring to Wake Forest following the 2020 season. He only saw action in two games last year for the Demon Deacons, so he decided to use his seventh and final year of eligibility to become a grad-transfer at MTSU.
“I started my career with Coach Mason. I was a young guy, and he was able to pour and invest a lot into me, so coming into this seventh season, with Coach Mason being new and trying to establish a culture, I just felt like I could be a staple in the locker room to be that connection,” Harris revealed. “Drawing guys together, showing them how to do things the right way, how Coach wants us to do things, and just be a leader in that aspect and use this last year to give back to him and this program.”
Those sentiments expressed from the 24 year-old are the norm in the culture that Derek Mason is trying to build in Murfreesboro rather than the exception. This thinking applies to everyone in the building, and even bleeds into the thoughts that some outsiders have about 2024 schedule being extremely tough.
“I was the head coach at Vanderbilt, so tough is all relative,” Mason replied when asked about his thoughts on the presumed tough schedule. “I think the idea for us is to play a competitive schedule because that allows you to see what your football team is made of. I tell these guys, everyday is a job interview. What we get a chance to do in these first six Saturdays is step on the field, present who we are, play good football, and let the chips fall where they may.”
Of course, when you have a quarterback as accredited as Vattiato under center, your confidence tends to be a little higher than the average Joe.
“I feel good about having a quarterback who has put up numbers and who is probably as heralded as any quarterback in this conference. With the experience and numbers he has put up, he did it quietly,” Mason continued. “Nick Vattiato could have left this program but he decided to stay, and I think he is a testament to what this program is built on. He’s blue collar, so we're going to work every day, we’re going to show up, and we’re going to be about things that matter. The season is going to be the season, what we get the chance to do is work because the work is free.”
That blue collar approach from your starting quarterback almost always tends to trickle down on the rest of the team, and MTSU is no exception to this. Vattiato said that in the spring, Mason challenged every individual on the team to accrue 10 community service hours before the end of the summer, and he “know(s) that every single guy exceeded those expectations.”
Vattiato was named to the Allstate Good Works Team for the Allstate Wuerffel Trophy extremely recently, and when asked about how he felt being selected, he immediately credited Coach Mason.
“It’s definitely an honor and I’m grateful to be recognized in that way,” Vattiato said. “I think it’s something that is a reflection of Coach Mason. Since he got here he has preached about being in the community and giving back to the people that support us. It’s just not me, it’s a representation of our whole team I think. It’s been great to give back to the community, and that community is something we are grateful for as well.”
Of course, on the football side of things, things will look a little different than they did under the legendary Rick Stockstill. While everyone around the program makes sure outsiders understand how grateful they are to the foundation that Coach Stockstill built in Murfreesboro, they also acknowledge that the way team’s play from year to year evolve naturally.
“Coach Stock’s imprint is still on this program. You don’t change everything overnight. You look in your program, you see what are the strengths of your program, you recruit around that, and you build your offense and defense around that,” Mason explained. “Offensively, we felt like we needed to make sure we could protect our quarterback – because you're only as good as your front five and what you do on the defensive line – so we also started utilizing tight ends. We felt in pass pro, at times, our quarterback was under a little bit of duress.”
“You’re still going to see 11 personnel [1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR], you’re still going to see 10 personnel [1 RB, 4WR], but you’re going to see 12 [1 RB, 2 TE, 2 WR], 13 [1 RB, 3 TE, 1 WR], and even 22 personnel [2 RB, 2 TE, 1 WR] too. So you’re going to see good old-time football with some good old-fashioned Blue Raider principles wrapped in it.”
A coach explaining what the plan of attack offensively is one thing, but it’s up to the players on the field to execute and get the job done. That job, of course, starts with the quarterback, who has played his entire collegiate career under Coach Stockstill.
“The first night, Coach had a meeting with the players, and one of the first things he said was that Coach Stock had built the foundation that we are going to build on top of and not just starting over. There’s a lot to the program that Coach Stock gave, and I think Coach Mason has done a great job and we’re going to continue to build on that in his way and his vision,” Vattiato said.
“When it comes to football, I think it’s very important when you look at some of the best teams across the country in terms of being multiple, and what wins you football games is being able to do what you want to do when you need to in any situation,” the Blue Raiders’ signal caller continued. “Whether you’re in a drive at the end of the game to milk the clock, the middle eight, those are situations that really determine a game, and you need to be able to make adjustments. I’m sure it will surprise a lot of people come Week 1 what that offense looks like, but I’m very confident in it and I’m very excited about moving forward.”
Of course, the offense isn’t the only side of the ball experiencing a schematic shift. Derek Mason is a defensive guy, and so the defense has been forced to adapt as well. Senior leader at lineback, Devyn Curtis, is one of the main players tasked with making sure all 11 guys on the field know and understand their job before the ball is snapped.
“It’s been really interesting for all of us, but it’s all football,” he said. Defenses are all the same, it’s just how you present it, and so we get to learn concepts before slowly teaching it to the younger guys.”
As a leader, Curtis is also able to recognize other great leaders around him, and he had only glowing compliments towards his starting quarterback on that front.
“He is everything you ask for as a leader,” said Curtis. “He's upbeat, always bringing great energy, and he is a hard worker. He’s really the ideal quarterback leader if you ask me.”
According to CUSA media voters, the Liberty Flames, under second-year head coach and reigning CUSA Co-COTY Jamey Chadwell, will repeat as conference champions. Led on the field by reigning CUSA MVP at quarterback, Kaidon Salter, Liberty finished last season ranked 23rd in the final CFP rankings. The Flames received 18 of the 20 available first place votes while Western Kentucky were responsible for the other two votes. The Hilltoppers are projected to match up with Liberty in the title game this December.
The good news? The Blue Raiders get to play both teams at home this season, so if MTSU is going to make some noise and compete for a conference title, the Blue Raider faithful will have to come out in droves to pack Floyd Stadium this season. Salter is the best quarterback in the conference, but Vattiato seems poised to have a breakout season this year to compete with Salter for that honor.
In the end, like Coach Mason expressed at the very beginning of the press conference, it’s going to come down to how well can the new players digest and execute together as one unit on gameday.
