Ashland, Ohio – The Eagles are flocking together this spring as they prepare to repeat their 2023 successes.
The Ashland University football team has continued to train hard throughout the offseason following a strong season in the fall. The team, being led by second-year Head Coach Doug Geiser, is looking to only grow the program further with hopes for a conference title in the 2024 stint.
“The guys are having fun getting started,” Geiser said. “They are flying around and [we] have a lot of good teaching going on by our coaches.
“Players are keeping up with themselves and staying athletic. It has been a good and promising start.”
The Eagles enter the spring campaign off a fall that was highlighted by a 9-3 overall record and a win in the America’s Crossroads Bowl. That victory came against the McKendree Panthers, 23-20.
The fall season was also highlighted by a fourth-overtime win against the Findlay Oilers, a Great Midwest Athletic Conference rival.
With high expectations to uphold in the next run-around, the team is remaining locked in this spring in weight room training.
“The winter training cycle is probably one of the most important during the year,” Geiser said. “For us, it’s the get big, get strong time. You see the youngsters change their bodies, while the older guys get fine-tuned.”
Having the newly-built NISS Athletic Center has also given the team an extra edge with an extra building to practice in. When the weather is bad, the team has an opportunity to still get practice in on an indoor field.
Off the field, the Eagles have focused on staying consistent on their health.
“We’re very fortunate on staff here at Ashland,” said Geiser. “We have Dr. David Vanata who’s a professor in nutrition and dietetics. He’s got a background good background coming with previous experience with the Florida State football team.
“We also bring him in a couple of times a year to talk to our team… to know the needs of your body and so on and so forth. We’re very fortunate for a D-II school.“
On Saturday, April 6, 13 and 20, the team will kick off the teams’ spring scrimmages.
“As far as objectives, what we’re looking at is the fact we graduated some really good players in certain areas,” Geiser said. “It’s exciting for the coaches to see the young guys step into those new bodies now and see what can they carry over and do better at this point.”
The Eagles released their 2024 season schedule back in March, with numerous high-profile contests. Geiser and the team will look to kick off his second year as head coach at home against Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) on Thursday, Sept. 5.
