Losing was a focal point during the offseason for the Lincoln Blue Tigers football team.
No, it had nothing to do with the win-loss column on the schedule, or anything that takes place on the football field for that matter. Rather, the losing occurred with Lincoln's offseason conditioning.
"We had some guys that were a little heavy," Lincoln coach Mike Jones said. "Eight guys have lost 30 pounds or more. Offensive linemen, defensive linemen; we had two linebackers lose 20 pounds. These guys worked really hard this summer."
The players' weight loss was part of a program to get the team in better football shape, and that started in the weight room, where Jones said four school records were broken on the first day of school this fall. The reps and the weight amounts continued to rise, and as preseason practice started, Jones hoped the off-the-field success would carry its way onto the field.
"It starts with the attitude and how the guys approach everything," Jones said. " The attitude has been great the entire time. The first couple of days we came out, it was kind of warm and the guys gave us everything they've got."
And the improvement isn't just at one or two positions. Jones said it's happening across the board.
"Right now, because everyone has done such a good job, it's been pretty evenly matched," Jones said. "Up front, without a doubt, you can see our offensive line has drastically improved. We've got three guys returning and they used the offseason getting their weight together. They've done a great job."
The Blue Tigers are coming off a 1-10 season in 2015. Lincoln begins the 2016 season at 2 p.m. today at Dwight T. Reed Stadium when it hosts Langston, which was the Blue Tigers' lone win in the season opener a year ago.
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The Lincoln offense will have several familiar faces from the 2015 season, especially at wide receiver.
The Blue Tigers return three of their top four receiving targets, which include a pair of All-GLVC wideouts with seniors Bryson Winfrey and Darius Hicks. Winfrey caught a team-high 60 passes last season for 542 yards and four touchdowns, while Hicks had 41 catches for 559 yards and three scores.
"Bryson had a great summer," said Jones, who enters his sixth year with the Blue Tigers and an 8-47 career record. "We talked about getting himself in shape to catch 60 to 70 balls (this season) and to do a lot of different things."
Hicks has been working with wide receivers coach Shyrone Carey about reading defenses, as well as focusing "between the ears" to add to the tools he brings to the field.
The third returning receiver, senior Delvon Rouser, hauled in a team-best six touchdowns through the air in 2015.
"Rouser is the epitome of a team player," Jones said. "He does everything for us. He plays fullback, he plays tight end, he plays slot receiver. He'll get different touches from different angles, but we also demand him to block and he does a great job."
Lincoln will use four receivers often on offense, but Jones said they'll have multiple looks. There will be some instances where the Blue Tigers will use two or three wideouts with a tight end, but there will be other times they simply go with four wideouts. Sophomore Deonte Latimer has been listed as the fourth starter at wide receiver for today's game
The Blue Tigers will have a new starting quarterback this season with junior Dennis Vinson, who played in six games last season and completed 50-of-80 passes for 642 yards. Last season, Lincoln broke school records in both completions (242) and passing yards (2,832).
Jones said the quarterback spot was a competition between Vinson and freshman Andrew McIntyre during the preseason, but Vinson was announced as the starter Thursday afternoon when the team released its Week 1 depth chart.
"Dennis has played for two years and he got some action as a freshman. He had one start last year," Jones said. "He's been doing a good job."
Junior Will Randolph is starting at running back for the Blue Tigers. Senior Miles Drummond, who led the team with 356 yards rushing last season and was All-GLVC, will also get reps in the backfield.
Lincoln's offense had close to a 50-50 run-to-pass ratio last season, but the Blue Tigers gained just 937 yards on the ground, an average of 85.2 yards per game.
"We always want to be somewhere between 52 and 55 percent pass-to-run," Jones said. "College football is a little different. With a spread offense, you're going to throw the ball, but we still want to be able to establish the run."
On the offensive line, sophomores Alec Wallingsford and Miles Wallace return at center and left guard, respectively. Both players made nine starts last year. Senior Kenyachti Beech will get the start at left tackle, as will junior Jay Westray at right guard and senior Danzil Prescott at right tackle.
"We have about 13 guys that are challenging for a position," Jones said of the competition on the O-Line. " All of them are interchangeable."
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The Lincoln defense, on the other hand, will have several fresh faces this season, returning just two starters.
Senior Marvin Holley was an All-GLVC selection last year at safety and leads all returners with 63 tackles and two interceptions in 2015.
The other returning starter is junior Julius Jackson at defensive end. He had 40 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss a year ago.
"We feel that it's time for him to step up and be the leader we believe he can be," Jones said. "We think he's an all-conference type of defensive end. We feel that it's going to be this year that he turns a corner."
Junior Jervonta Jones will start at the other defensive end position, where he had 4.5 tackles for loss last season. At defensive tackle, the Blue Tigers will go with senior Faleaoga Russell and sophomore Rashon Riddles. Russell brings plenty of size to Lincoln's front line with his 6-foot-5, 345-pound frame.
"We have some guys that will hopefully turn the corner this year," Jones said.
There will four new faces at linebacker this season, beginning with Jefferson City's own Justus Schulte, a sophomore from Helias. Schulte only appeared in one game last year and made one tackle, but Jones looks for his production to improve significantly in 2016.
"I believe he thought he had to get bigger because it was college football, and he realized the weight wasn't a good weight for him," Jones said. "He got his weight down and he's moving a lot better. It's taken a lot of stress off his joints."
Junior Addison Tucker will join Schulte at middle linebacker, while junior Taj Moore and sophomore Amani Nelson will fill the remaining linebacker positions. Lincoln will remain with a 4-4 defense this season.
Juniors Aaron Brown and Lawrence Hogue are set to start at cornerback for the Blue Tigers.
Jones said the big key for several of the new starters to the Blue Tiger defense is becoming accustomed to being on the field for 40-to-50 plays a game, as opposed to when they came off the bench and saw just 10-to-15 plays.
"Defensively, this might be one of the fastest teams we've had since we've been here, across the board," Jones said. "We're not as big as we have been in the past, but what we lack in size we make up in determination and speed."
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On special teams, junior Alex Templeton will handle both the kicking and punting duties for Lincoln.
The Blue Tigers have several options in the return game. Hicks was the team's leading kick returner last season and sophomore Dennis Jackson is also listed as a returner. Jones said it will be a "returner-by-committee" scenario.
True freshman C.J. Closser from Blair Oaks will be the holder, but he will also get his chance to return kicks this season.
"I was talking to his high school coach (Terry Walker) and he said something that sticks with me," Jones said of Closser. "He said, 'Every day you see him, you're going to like him a little bit more. He's going to do something that you like.' And that's him. He hit it on the head."
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The Blue Tigers are searching for back-to-back wins in their home opener for the first time since 1979-80.
They are also looking for consecutive wins in consecutive seasons against the same opponent for the first time since 2007-08, when they beat Haskell.
Jones noted the point differential has been close between Lincoln and Langston the past two seasons - Langston won 49-48 in 2014 and Lincoln won 35-32 in 2015. He said the teams are evenly matched, but Lincoln came out firing in both games. The Blue Tigers scored 42 points in the first half in 2014 and then scored 28 points against the Lions before halftime last season.
"What we have to do is we have to maintain that momentum in the second half," Jones said. "That's a whole lot easier said than done, but that's what we want to do. We've been practicing for that tempo where we are going to play hard the whole time."
Preview podcast:
Lincoln Blue Tigers Football Podcast [Langston preview, Sept. 3, 2016]