Tompkins wasted no time in bringing full intensity to practice.

The Falcons took the field for fall practice for the first time this year on Monday, and from the start, the Falcons were at full speed. They went at it and pushing themselves even in the first practice of the year.

A huge part of that came from the tone set by Tompkins’ senior captains, who came out, set the tone from even before practice started and made sure they held themselves and their teammates accountable.

“It was so important for us to do that,” said senior defensive lineman Eduwa Ekundaye. “It’s the first day of practice and that sets the tone for the entire rest of the year. It’s up to us as leaders to come out here and let everyone know how we do things and the intensity that’s expected. It’s really important to have that from the start.”

Tompkins went through a hard three hour practice, locking down the fundamentals and fousing on doing things right from day one. They went through tons of different things and ended with a two-minute drill where the goal was for the offense to drive the entire field with a running clock and end with a touchdown without making mistakes.

“It’s a great drill because it makes those guys quit worrying about what is going on and just do their jobs,” said Tompkins head coach Todd McVey. “I like two minutes a lot, because you don’t have time to think about the intangibles. They did a good job with it. There’s little things we can work on with being on the line of scrimmage and things but that’s exactly why you do this early and to continue that conditioning.”

It was an early morning practice, but the heat was still out and players frequently took water breaks, making sure they were properly hydrated. The athletic trainers were out and helping the players and coaches constantly and it’s something that everyone in the program is greatly appreciative of.

“They are the unsung heroes out here,” McVey said. “They do such a great job. They make sure everyone is well and they’re constantly watching out for all of the athletes and the coaches. We can’t thank them enough for how they come out here in the Texas heat and do what they do. All the kids here respect every single one of them and really appreciate them, you can’t say enough about our athletic trainers.”

While the work is hard and grueling, it’s something that both the coaching staff and the players couldn’t wait for. Players got to practice early and had the energy flowing and even after practice the entire team sprinted off and were joking around, happy and excited to be there.

While the Falcons will continue their mantra of getting one percent better every day and working as hard as they can, they aren’t going to forget to have fun with it either.

“It was amazing being back out here,” said senior offensive tackle Ashton Funk. “I think almost every senior has been thinking about this day since that first round in the playoffs last year and it absolutely didn’t disappoint. It was so fun to get out here with the guys, compete and take a step towards the season. It was a great first day.”