ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech opens its football season Sept. 10 at Sacramento State and the Trailblazers are continuing to develop as they head into year three as a Division I program.
Head coach Paul Peterson and two Trailblazers answered questions in Houston, Texas, Tuesday morning at the Western Athletic Conference Media Day.
“The most exciting thing for the schedule is we still have 11 games, and we got that fifth home game,” Peterson told St. George News via telephone before the Trailblazers took the stage.
As previously reported in St. George News, Utah Tech Athletics had to adjust the schedule on the fly after University of the Incarnate Word and Lamar University opted out of the WAC.
“The WAC did a really good job of getting our 11-game schedule and that fifth home game is awesome,” Peterson said. “We’re excited about having that fifth home game and showing off our new stadium.”
The Trailblazers will play in the friendly confines of Greater Zion Stadium Sept. 10 (Chadron State), Oct. 1 (Abilene Christian), Oct. 22 (Sam Houston State), Nov. 5 (Southern Utah) and Nov. 12 (Tarleton State).
The refurbishments and enhancements to Greater Zion Stadium, including luxury suites and a new state-of-the-art press box, are expected to be complete when the Trailblazers kick off in their home opener Sept. 10 against the Eagles.
Utah Tech finished 1-10 last season against an equally difficult schedule.
“It’s a good schedule for us, call it difficult or not,” Peterson said. “We played some really good teams last year, I think nine of them were ranked. That’s the level we want to play at, that’s our goal.”
“Our guys feel that and see that developing and it’s going to be a really good season to prove we belong at a Football Championship Series level,” Peterson said.
Appearing at Media Day along with Peterson were Trailblazers senior offensive lineman Nate Aceves and sophomore defensive lineman Syrus Webster.
“Over the summer we’ve built chemistry and have been working hard as a team offensively,” Aceves said. “Our focus has been on group goals and we’ve been working hard at what we got to do.”
Added Webster: “We want to be known for having a complete defense, relentless. Everybody does their job right, in training and in practice, so we’re all on the same page.”
Peterson said that he’s not the kind of coach who will make predictions.
“Week in to week out, we just want to get better,” Peterson said.
In a preseason coaches poll, Utah Tech was picked to finish fifth in the WAC. Rival Southern Utah was picked fourth. Utah Tech defensive back Tyrell Grayson and linebacker Will Leota, both sophomores, were named to the preseason All-WAC defensive team.
Stephen F. Austin is the favorite to win the WAC, receiving four of five top votes in the coaches’ poll.
Since 2011, North Dakota State has won the FCS championship nine times, including last year’s 38-10 title victory over Montana State.
WAC rival Sam Houston State won the FCS title in 2020.
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