It’s easy to say that players on a team that wins games are going to like one another. That’s not always the case.
Both after Saturday’s 34-16 win at The Citadel, and at Monday’s press conference heading into the bye week, East Tennessee State players talked about how this team has a different, stronger dynamic than last season.
Oh yeah, and ETSU (5-2, 3-0) also happens to be the only Southern Conference team still undefeated in league play, rose to No. 20 in the Stats Perform FCS Top 25, and broke into the FCS coaches’ poll in the No. 24 spot.
“I think we’re a really close team and that’s something that this time last year may not necessarily have been the case,” tight end Charlie Browder said Monday. Browder is in his second year at ETSU, starting his career at UCF, then spending three seasons at Tennessee. “I think that’s something that the staff kind of realized. When you’re bringing in, you know, 50, 60 new guys, you’ve really got to put emphasis on bringing them together because being a tough and tight football team can help you win games. When stuff gets hard and it’s not going your way, if you’re a tough team and a tight team, you can come together and win those games.”
The start to Saturday’s game certainly applies as a time when stuff got hard. The Bucs trailed 10-0 after one quarter.
“In football and life and anything, like, you’re going to go through hard stuff,” Browder said. “I think when you’re doing it with people that you trust and people that you genuinely care about, I think that gives you the best chance to be successful. When you’re down 10-nothing and nobody blinks, like, OK, cool, we’re down 10-nothing. Whatever. You turn around and we get a scoop and score. Later on we get a blocked punt. Like, good teams find ways to win games. And that’s what we did on Saturday.”
Spending time together away from football has been key in building those bonds.
“We got guys who come from bigger programs now and they, low key, they understand the way of winning,” said receiver Suderian Harrison, a transfer from Virginia. “It’s bringing everybody in together. We’re just trying to reach one common goal. Everybody being tight together and just hanging out off the field is a big main thing of our success as well.”
The comments by Browder and Harrison reinforce what senior defensive lineman Brenden LeBlanc said on the Buc Sports Network following Saturday’s game at The Citadel.
“We’re really close,” said LeBlanc, a rarity in the transfer portal era who has spent each of the past four years with the same program – ETSU. “Rather than years past, the continuity. The people love each other on this team. It’s contagious.”
Healy, who talked about the importance of the team culture following Saturday’s win, went back to that topic after Browder and Harrison had their turn fielding questions from local media.
“When you you talk about what’s going on in the landscape of college football, there’s frustrations and there are negatives. And then you get a chance to sit there and listen to the way those two guys represent this program and what kind of people they are and how much fun they are to coach,” Healy said as part of his opening remarks Monday. “And then you start to realize why it’s so important and why it means so much to me for them to have success and an unbelievable experience. And so, two incredible ambassadors for our program and was awesome to hear them talk about this place.”
Injury report
Heading into The Citadel game, the Bucs had 28 of the 44 players on their offensive and defensive two deep physically limited in some shape, form, or fashion. The off week provides a chance to get guys healthier, or as healthy as they can be for the final stretch of games.
On Monday, Healy elaborated on some of the injuries his team has faced. One of the most obvious is offensive lineman Maddox Radcliffe, who started the first six games at center but missed The Citadel game. Cal Grubbs started in his place. ETSU was already thin at center, with junior transfer Brodie Bass suffering an injury during preseason camp that has sidelined him for all of 2026.
“I think he’s going to be out for a couple of weeks,” Healy said of Radcliffe, which suggests he would miss, at minimum, the Oct. 24 game at VMI as well. “You know, we’ll see the severity of it. I know he’s got another doctor’s appointment coming up, but it was Cal’s turn. I mean, that was a really good battle in fall camp.
“I think Cal’s prepared like he was the starter. He was ready for that moment,” Healy added. “Those are tough conditions to get your first start and I thought he executed really well. We’re going to need him to play at a high level. “
Quarterback Mason Mims is among the more than two dozen Bucs on the two deep on the injured list. During games, Mims has been strong, racking up 1,540 passing yards and 10 touchdowns through seven games. His 70% completion rate currently ranks third among all FCS quarterbacks.
“He’s been beat up,” Healy said. “You know, we haven’t talked about it a whole lot, but there’s been a lot of practice reps that he’s missed because he’s just been, you know, he’s kind of taken a young beating. So I’ve been very impressed with how he’s managed the game, how he’s responded to any type of adversity that he has.”
Healy added that ETSU had to order a brace this past week for defensive lineman Charles Woodard , who paces the Bucs in sacks (2.5) and quarterback hurries (6) and shares the team lead in tackles for loss (4),. Harrison and Browder also have missed practice time due to nagging injuries.
Those nagging injuries have not led many Bucs to miss games; receiver Xavier Gaillardetz, who had foot surgery last month, is the one significant exception. That might be attributed to ETSU bringing in veteran strength and conditioning coach Rodney Hill in the offseason as Assistant Athletic Director for Football Sport Performance. But that’s not a link Healy is ready to speak to, at least not yet.
“Whether we’d had injuries or not had injuries, I would still feel really good about the hire of Rodney,” Healy said of Hill, who spent the previous two years at Florida and has significant experience at both the power conference and NFL levels in his field. “And I think he’s done a really good job. … We had our fastest Tuesday practice of the year last week. That stuff’s important to me. And we’ve pushed (the players) hard, but we’ve also been very aware of what kind of kind of loads we put on them. And Rodney’s been tremendous with that and his staff. You know, I think that our speeds have increased. I think we look fast, playing.”