By Harry Minium
It was the first spring practice Old Dominion University's football team has held in two years, and in keeping with NCAA rules, players wore helmets without pads and no tackling was allowed.
Jake Rahne has seen a ton of spring practices at Penn State, but the 9-year-old didn't pay attention to the no-tackling rule. The youngest son of ODU football coach Ricky Rahne took aim and plowed over a practice dummy as he ran onto the field Tuesday afternoon.
You can tell he's the son of a coach. His technique was spot on. He wrapped up and took the dummy down in one motion. Afterwards, he jumped on top of the dummy, just to make sure he was down for the count.
Wife Jennifer and sons Jake and Ryder have been a huge part of Ricky Rahne's football life, and the first-year coach, who was the offensive coordinator at Penn State, made that clear when he met the media following the first day of workouts.
Although his family's time on campus has been limited by the pandemic, he bought a house in Larchmont so his family could come see him at work and came to ODU in part because the school encourages family to be a part of its program.
"That's why you buy a house only a mile away so they can show up for practice," Rahne said, when asked about Jake's tackling acumen. "They've missed it as much as anyone."
Jen and sons attended practice with neighbors Delphine and Aurelia Chard, who also let off some excess energy, running around the field as practice ended,
Rahne was named ODU's head coach in December of 2019 only a few months before the pandemic forced the University to shut down spring practice and eventually cancel the 2020 season.
Rahne has spent more time with his family in the offseason than ever in large part because NCAA rules forbid coaches from going on the road to recruit.
"It's been awesome," he said. "I've been able to go to some of my sons' basketball games and hockey games and recently to 7-on-7" football scrimmages.
Jake Rahne after bowling over a tackling dummy
"Just the fact that they can be here is just an awesome deal," Rahne added. "I love my wife, I love my kids. For me, that's one of the most important things about where I buy a home, where I coach."
Young Jake wasn't the only young man on the field playing with vigor. You could feel a strong dose of energy, or, as senior offensive tackle Isaac Weaver said, "a sense of urgency," that was at times missing during the fall.
"Today felt a little bit like we're back to normal," Weaver said. "It was so great to get back today. Everyone realizes the clock is ticking down on the season."
It was clear from the hustle and at times the contact that guys are competing for playing time. And there is plenty to compete for. Few starters remain from the team that went 1-11 in 2019.
The roster of 88 players includes 43 freshmen or redshirt freshmen, 18 sophomores or redshirt sophomores, 19 juniors or redshirt juniors and eight seniors. They will be joined by 13 more freshmen in the fall.
ODU is surely one of the youngest if not the youngest Football Bowl Subdivision team in America, but it's uncertain how long the Monarchs will remain that long. You can be certain ODU will look to add transfers from other FBS schools and junior colleges after spring practice.
Rahne was pleased with not only how hard his players worked Tuesday, but how well they performed.
"We had the exact same practice with the exact same script, and it doesn't look like the same team," he said, referring to fall practice.
"I'm happy with that because it shows our coaches have been really working and our players have bought into what we're doing.
"I know they're excited. I know there are times when they want to wish away the rest of it and just get to September. I've told them just be thankful for every day we're out here, every chance to get better.
"I do see a team that has a renewed love for football, that maybe before it was a job. Coaches included. Now we all know it can get taken away from us. Every day out here is an absolute blessing."
The most-watched battle for a starting job is at quarterback, and while ODU has five, three stand out as the most likely to start – returnees Hayden Wolff and Stone Smartt and newcomer D.J. Mack Jr., one of five FBS transfers who had their first practice with their new team on Tuesday.
Wolff and Smartt both started for ODU in 2019 and both have strong arms. Smartt is more mobile but Wolff has more range on deep throws.
Mack, at 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, looks like a linebacker but moves like a wide receiver. The redshirt junior from Norfolk's Norview High School connected on several long passes and tossed others on the run.
Asked about his quarterbacks, all of whom threw well, Rahne credited offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kirk Campbell for how they performed.
"The one thing I saw today is a group that's a lot more comfortable and I think that's a credit to them and to coach Kirk Campbell," he said.
Tuesday was Rahne's first time seeing Mack, MVP of the 2018 American Athletic Conference championship game at Central Florida, throw in person.
"I thought he did a nice job today," Rahne said. "I know there are some (throws he missed) that he's going to want back. He has a lot less reps than the other guys, so he's got some catching up to do.
"Obviously, he's a guy who's played in a championship setting and that's something that's intriguing to us. But quite frankly, I'm just happy with the whole quarterback crew because I thought they showed big-time improvement from where we were three months, let alone six months ago."
Speaking of quarterbacks, Ryder Rahne was seen tossing a ball to some ODU receivers after practice. His father was a record-setting quarterback at Cornell and his son, who's almost 12, appears to be a natural.
Ryder recently played in a 7-on-7 tournament in Virginia Beach put on by former ODU quarterbacks coach Ron Whitcomb where he was coached by former Monarch quarterback Blake LaRussa, the hero of the University's 49-35 victory over Virginia Tech in 2018.
"I haven't talked to Blake yet about that," Ricky Rahne said of LaRussa, who recently became a father.
"Hayden Wolff has done a little bit with him. I've tried to stay away from that as much as humanly possible.
"In fact, until yesterday I had never coached my son on anything football related. He asked me to, so we went out and did a few things."
They went inside after it began raining, but you could see from the smile on his face that's a memory Rahne will hold onto.
Rahne promised when he was named head coach to turn the L.R. Hill Complex into a nursery of sorts. ODU's staff, the youngest in the nation, had something of a baby boom last year.
"Our coaches work very long hours," Rahne said. "I want them to know their families are welcome at our facility."
He said that wasn't just to bring togetherness between coaches and families, but also so the players can interact with wives, girlfriends and children. One of his many goals for his players, Rahne has said, is to make sure they are eventually good fathers.
The pandemic has largely kept families out of the football complex and that's been frustrating, said Inge Seiler, a former University of Virginia track star and wife to defensive coordinator Blake Seiler.
I was interviewing Blake about linebacker Steven Williams, his daughters, Elle and Brynn, ran across the field and grabbed onto their father's legs and yelled "Daddy."
Inge held Riggs, a year-old boy with beautiful bright brown eyes who she woke up from a nap to go see her husband at practice.
"We haven't gotten together nearly as much as we wanted to," she said of the football wives and girlfriends. "And when we have, it's been in masks."
Here's hoping by the time ODU opens at Wake Forest in six months that social distancing and mandatory mask wearing will be a bad memory and that the L.R. Hill Complex does indeed turn into a nursery.
As for who will start for ODU at Wake, we may have to wait six months to hear answer to that question.
"I'll name him 14 minutes before game time," Ricky Rahne said, laughing.
"We'll Let these guys battle it out.
"Competition, that pressure, is going to help decide the thing. You need that pressure because that's what they'll experience in a game."
And as was obvious Tuesday, you also need family.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu
Minium: For Coach Ricky Rahne and Football Coaching Staff, Spring Football is a Family Affair
