Straight from the Cleveland Plain Dealer:

Any football coach will tell you he wants aggressive kids who play hard, listen and compete. He wants players going to class, practicing hard and playing tough.

University of Toledo first-year coach Tim Beckman is pushing the same values that his predecessor, Tom Amstutz, did. But the players are listening as if it is a whole new message.

“I think that is a very fair observation,” UT athletic director Mike O’Brien said. “It’s not the message as much as the messenger. It’s a new face, a new kind of energy.”

It certainly is a new kind of energy. Even for the fans. More enthusiasm surrounds the program than it has in the past few years…. (I will say it…) combined. Time will tell if this enthusiasm translates to talented players joining the program. I’m excited to win some games and enjoy reading what Coach Beckman has to say, but that doesn’t mean I should be putting on a uniform to go out and make a play. A positive attitude is certainly a step forward. The Rockets might have enough talent on previous teams to have been a .500 team but the team morale had dropped so low that even a .500 season would have been a miracle. Hopefully Beckman has instilled a new winning attitude that gives the players confidence in the coaches and themselves, and also the fans confidence to show up to the Glass Bowl to see a victory!

It can not end with enthusiasm. The Rockets need more talent. I believe you must do the best with what you have, which might bring the program back to .500 this season, but to achieve at a level we all want to see the Rockets playing at, recruiting is going to be a major factor in the success of this program. Who knows, maybe this renewed level of enthusiasm and confidence will bring in high level recruits? Now is your chance to prove yourself as head coach. This might be the most challenging season of your head coaching career. Can you resurrect this program?

“I have been in this league,” Beckman said of his seven-year stint at BG, from 1998 to 2004. “I have gotten to coach in Ohio for two national championship coaches. I hope that’s one of the reasons they hired me.”