“It’s been very surreal. Sometimes I sit back and look and say, `Okay, this is what I wanted, this is what I’ve asked God for and he has given it to me.’ So now I pray to Him each and every day to make sure I do the best to my ability to get the best out of these guys.”
tsu head coach cris dishman
The energy is much more intense around Texas Southern’s Durley Stadium this spring.
Sure, the music fills the background noise during this Saturday night’s spring football practice, but just above it are the voices of the assistant coaches pushing and demanding more from every player on the football field.
Off to the side, far enough way to observe all 22 players on both sides of the football but still close enough to correct and fix even the smallest of details is the new man in charge of the Tigers’ football program, Cris Dishman.
“The guys have really adjusted to what we are doing as a staff,” Dishman said to the Defender following this past Saturday night’s practice under the lights. “They are buying in.
“We’re not a team yet, but we are working every day to become a team. By the end of spring ball or the spring game, that’s when you will see a full team.”
In the meantime, the players are absorbing every detail demand of their new coaching staff, down to not only drinking water during their breaks but also making sure they consume small snacks for extra carbohydrates.
It’s definitely a different approach than under the Clarence McKinney regime. But the players who decided to stick around and not jump into the transfer portal after McKinney’s contract wasn’t renewed seem excited about the new approach that is meant to finally get the program back to winning.
“Almost every coach out there has worked in the NFL, played in the NFL. So, just knowledge and the way they have teaching us compared to in the past, it’s exciting,” said quarterback Jace Wilson, who was thrust into the starting role after last season’s opener. “Everything has a reason behind it. Everything is calculated. Our new strength coaches are amazing. It just feels like a different program. We are excited.”
And it all starts with Dishman, the former Houston Oilers great, and the way he has embraced his new team and they feel like they are his.
“Amazing dude; he’s an amazing leader,” said linebacker Jacob Williams. “It’s great to just watch him and see how he leads. He played at the highest level so it’s great to just watch him. He is pretty much a role model for the team.”
WHAT: Texas Southern Tigers’ Annual Spring Game
WHEN: Saturday, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Durley Stadium
Dishman has inherited a program that went 3-8 and 2-6 in the SWAC and hasn’t had an NCAA-recognized winning season in more than two decades. But were it not for a play or two here and there, the Tigers seemed on the verge of a breakthrough the last two seasons under McKinney.
It just never happened in his five seasons at the helm. Now it’s Dishman’s job.
The positivity combined with the demand for accountability from the new man in charge has made this transition much easier.
“I think the guys wanted the change,” said Dishman, who will wrap up the spring practices on Saturday (1 p.m.) with the Tigers’ annual spring game at Durley Stadium. “Change is good. Some people fight change. I don’t think they fought the change. They understood at meeting one to now, exactly what we wanted. And they have just been buying in and doing it.”
One big difference this spring has been that no starting spots are guaranteed. It’s an open competition, even for established players like Jacob Williams and Wilson.
Dishman has made it clear that nobody will win a starting job during spring practices.
Wilson has been splitting reps with Jordan Davis this spring and there could be a three-way split when 6-foot-4 freshman Carter Barnes arrives on campus for fall practice.
“He is competing for his job. No one has a job,” Dishman said of Wilson. “Jace has played a lot of games but that don’t make him the starter. We have no starters on offense or defense.
“Right now, everybody is auditioning for their job. Even me, as a head coach, I’m auditioning for my job. Coaches are auditioning for their jobs. It’s okay to have competition.
“It’s okay to have that pressure on you because you come to work every day and every day not knowing if you have a job or not.”
That’s perfectly fine with his players.
“It keeps you on your toes, keeps the starters on their toes,” Williams said. “It makes us understand we have to come to work every day and nothing is given. You can’t get complacent.”
