This interview was recorded Thursday, March 18, in the Trinity Valley Community College football field house.
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Because of COVID-related changes, it's March 2021 and the TVCC Cardinals are getting ready to kick off what is essentially their 2020 season.
"It's the spring and we're fixing to play football," said Coach Sherard Poteete.
The eight-game season begins Saturday, March 27, on the road against the Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen. The shortened season will include a Good Friday afternoon game in Tyler and two Thursday night games.
Poteete knows NEO will be a challenge to start the season.
"They've been very good defensively the last few years," he said.
That defense was led by coordinator Zach Crissup, who is now NEO's head coach. That means the Cardinals know what to expect from the Golden Norsemen on defense, but aren't sure what they'll see from the NEO offense.
"Offensively is kind of an unknown," Poteete said, "because we don't have any tape on them, don't have any film on them. They've kind of had a turnover on the offensive side of their staff."
While change may be the story at NEO, the opposite is true with TVCC, which returns six of its seven coaches.
"We've been very blessed and fortunate here at Trinity Valley to have a cohesive group of coaches," Poteete said.
That consistency in the coaching staff should be a strength for the team, particularly considering some players haven't played a game since 2019.
Poteete said his team should be solid up the middle, listing the offensive line, running backs, and tight ends as strengths. He said the Cardinals have talent at receiver, but not as much depth as they've had in the past.
Depth isn't a problem in the quarterback room.
"I've got seven quarterbacks in that room," he said. "We have yet to name a starter, but I feel we're three or four deep right now and the guys are just coming on. The guy who might be sixth or seventh on the depth chart right now as the season goes on could be fighting for the starting job."
Defensively, the Cardinals will be experienced at linebacker.
"We expect big things from those guys this year," Poteete said.
TVCC will also be deep, but young, in the secondary. One good veteran is safety Ian Massey.
"He's kind of running the ship back there," Poteete said.
Listen to the podcast above to learn more about the Cardinals, their upcoming game against NEO, and the SWJCFC.
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