Wofford coach Mike Ayers welcomes a program-record 122 players to practice next month.
SPARTANBURG – Wofford College football coach Mike Ayers was excited to be at Southern Conference Media Day on Wednesday. That’s because fall practice and the 2015 season are following right behind it.
“I’ve been excited for a long time to get this day started and to get this day over because this is the day that kind of lets you know for real, hey, it’s football,” said Ayers.
Even as long as Ayers has been doing this job — he’s entering his 28th season as coach of the Terriers — he still gets caught up in the details and the excitement of pulling together another team.
“My wife, she says I have that far-away look in my eyes, and she’ll say, ‘What are you thinking about?’ ” he said. “It might be anything from something we discussed in the office, something I saw on film, something I read in the paper. It all pertains to football.”
Ayers, quarterback Evan Jacks and free safety Jaleel Green represented Wofford at the annual Southern Conference event.
Both the conference coaches and media predict that Wofford, which has finished 5-6 and 6-5 the past two seasons, will fall short of the playoffs for a third consecutive season. Both groups picked Wofford to finish fourth in the SoCon.
When the Terriers begin fall practice next month, Ayers will look to prove those predictions wrong with a roster long in numbers and full of experience.
Wofford returns 10 starters on offense, nine on defense and its kicker and punter. A dozen other players have started games.
Thanks to one of the largest recruiting classes in program history, Wofford will have 122 players on the roster. Ayers said that will be the largest number of players ever by about 30.
Ayers also said that the work the players have put in since the end of the 2014 season gives him confidence for the battles to come.
“There’s just a positive mindset about the guys no matter how tough we’ve made it for them,” he said. “They’ve stepped to the plate. They’re making guys accountable to one another, which is huge.”
Wofford opens its season Sept. 5 at Clemson University.
•Two Wofford players made the All-Southern Conference preseason first team: offensive lineman Anton Wahrby and punter Brian Sanders.
Selected to the second team were back Lorenzo Long, offensive lineman T.J. Chamberlin, defensive lineman E.J. Speller, linebackers Terrance Morris and Drake Michaelson and return specialist Will Gay.
