BILLINGS — New Rocky Mountain College football coach Randy Bandelow arrived on campus in January. Just over two and a half months later, he finally has some moving pieces to look at out on the field.
“We call it the ascension around here. We’re just trying to ascend," Bandelow told MTN Sports before a recent spring practice. "Be better tomorrow than we were today, better today than we were yesterday.”
Part of that ascension is involves returning players like Sean Tutty shifting positions defensively from nickel to safety.
WATCH the Bears iron new schemes and hear about embracing the ascension:
“I played nickel in high school, too, so it’s been kind of cool being deeper in the field. I kind of get to be a little bit of a field general which is kind of nice, direct the traffic,” Tutty explained.
The Bears are coming off a 4-6 season. After serving as Carroll’s defensive coordinator for the past six years, not only is Bandelow a first-time head coach, he instantly had to reload a full staff. He welcomed six guys — three packing their bags alongside him from Carroll.
That means late nights and early mornings for everybody diving into new a playbook with new schemes.
“It’s brand new for these guys," Bandelow admitted. "Offense, defense, special teams, we’re kind of starting from scratch.”
Running back Tuff Adams is embracing the challenge.
“Oh, way different schemes and I’m excited for it. And lots of different energy, too. It’s been real positive these last few weeks,” he said.
A lof of coaches march in with grand plans the moment they arrive. Bandelow is taking the opposite approach. Less than three months into the job he’s focused on fundamentals, not forecasts.
“That doesn’t happen overnight. We have no goals for the season. I have no idea how the season’s going to go," he said with a smile. "We’ve got to get better right now and that stuff will take care of itself down the road.”
