BUTTE — The 2018 football season has begun for the Montana Tech Orediggers, but it is a different spring than each of the last two.
Tech enters March coming off of a 6-4 season. The Diggers had won the Frontier Conference title each of the past two seasons and was the preseason favorite for a three-peat. The team sputtered down the stretch and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014. Last fall’s finish has the guys hungry for improvement.
“Oh yeah, we’ve got a big time hunger,” said defensive lineman Brock Beede. “I know that (my teammates) want it just as bad as I do, and my fellow seniors. We’re looking forward to this season.”
But the success will have to come from a new-look roster, with all-conference talent on both sides of the ball graduating, most notably at quarterback.
“Quarterback for us, obviously, is going to be new, so that’s certainly a big spot for us,” said head coach Chuck Morrell. “We’ve got a couple of new, younger receivers (and) we’re got a couple of new guys in the secondary as well.”
Kickoff is still months away, but there is still plenty of excitement, as the Orediggers look to build the foundation for another Frontier Conference championship.
