TERRE HAUTE, IND.- It’s been 10 months and 11 days since the Eastern football team took the field to play a game,

Closing a frustrating season on Nov. 20 with a 28-14 win at Samford, the Panthers have had plenty of time to prepare for Thursday night’s opener at Indiana State.

Head coach Bob Spoo said he’s ready to take the field for his 19th year, and defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said he’s “chomping at the bit.”

And Panther fans should be excited too – but why?

After all, this is a team that has gone 9-14 the last two seasons – a team that hasn’t had a winning record in the Ohio Valley Conference since Tony Romo was taking snaps in Charleston.

But this team is different.

Spoo said adjustments with the coaching personnel, such as adding special teams coordinator Jeff Chote, haven’t affected the coaches’ chemistry.

But games aren’t won solely on the sidelines; it takes players committed to doing their jobs on the field.

And there’s evidence this group of players is ready to sacrifice,

While most Eastern students had their summer’s filled with Corona days and Heineken nights (at least the ones I know), the Panther football team was running routes, studying game film and working toward an ultimate goal of doing more than just improving – they want to be champions. Spoo said more of his players stayed in Charleston for summer workouts than in any other year.

And that’s why the coaches are excited.

Instead of longing for the days of Romo, Panther fans need to get excited about the talent currently wearing blue and white uniforms (not just Panther talent currently wearing blue and silver in Texas).

Junior running back Vincent Webb and junior split end Ryan Voss have all-OVC talent. Both were members of the preseason all-OVC team. The defense has the type of balance to be special with senior defensive end Kory Lothe beginning his NFL audition and junior corner back Ben Brown forcing opposing quarterbacks to think twice about throwing to their favorite targets.

Now that the two-a-day workouts have given way to classes, it’s time for the players to show that all their work this summer translates to performance.

And it began Thursday.

Dan Woike, a senior journalism major, ran out of funny things to write about this week. Tell him you understand they can’t all be winners at [email protected].