Michigan Tech football coach Dan Mettlach (white hat) discusses positioning during warmups for a game against Saginaw Valley State Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022, in Saginaw. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Tech University)

HOUGHTON — After six seasons under the tutelage of Steve Olson, the Michigan Tech Huskies football program is under a new voice this Spring, well, actually, it is a very familiar voice. Head coach Dan Mettlach, who was hired on Nov. 29, 2022, after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach. He also played his college football at Michigan Tech from 2001-04.

He spent the past couple of months transitioning into the position, filling out the coaching staff and recruiting. Now, with the team hitting the field three times a week for live drills, he is finally getting to do what he loves doing, football.

“It’s been good,” he said. “It’s nice to finally get to football. You go through the transition, right, into recruiting, and then it was our workouts, which went really well. Now (we’re) getting back out of the field, doing some different things with how we’re running the practice, tempo, the practice, and so on and so forth. So, seeing the transition, that’s been exciting as well. Everything’s been positive. We’ve been fortunate to get all of our practices in. (We) haven’t had too many weather issues. It’s been good from that standpoint.”

Mettlach has been a consistent voice for the Huskies’ players, but as a head coach, he has a wider variety of issues to be concerned with. He feels very blessed to have a group of coaches who all share his vision, which means the players get the same message, no matter what position they play.

“I feel like it’s going well,” he said. “Any time there’s a change in leadership, however it is, I feel like there’s that transition of what’s going to be different? How different is it going to be? Are things gonna be the same? One thing that I think is good that we have going right now, and this is a compliment for the rest of the staff, not to me, the message is the same in every room.

“So everybody’s hearing the same exact things and hammering home the same exact core values and everything. Whether it be the linebackers, the quarterbacks, everybody’s hearing the same message, and we get out on the field and everybody’s going in the same direction, which is a very positive thing.

Naturally, some things are a little different with Mettlach at the helm.

“We changed what we’re doing with our warm up, how the flow of the practice is going, so, I think just that little bit different for the guys that have been around is exciting. You’re getting out of what used to be a four-year routine for some of those guys, changing some things.

“There’s a little bit of different energy and excitement. There’s only so many things you can do to keep them on their toes in a practice.”

One of the things that is so valuable about having a chance to work on drills in the Spring is what the coaching staff can throw at the players to challenge them to improve.

“We’re adding some different situations to make sure that they’re always reacting, thinking, being able to play whatever part of it is,” said Mettlach. “So, we’ll go from an individual drill to a full-team segment, where it might be a second and 10 at the 15 yard line, it is a must-score situation. So, guys are getting in different situations that way, or are coming out, or whatever.

“We’re constantly trying to keep them in a position where if this particular situation comes up in a game, here’s how we have to be able to react, and defend it, or if you’re offensive, trying to get into the end zone in those situations. So that part’s been good as well.”

While getting out on the field at practicing for a month in the Spring is valuable, the concern is that, once the end of the allotted practice time is over and players leave campus for the Summer, that they will lose what they have learned by not working on it for a couple of months. Mettlach said that of the 120 players on roster, 45 will be around for Track A this Summer and 65 or so will be around for Track B, giving them a chance to work on their game with their teammates while the coaches are focused again on recruiting.

“We actually just had that conversation on Tuesday of how much can you throw at them that’s going to carry you over,” said Mettlach. “Obviously, everything we’re doing right now, we have to pick back up in early camp, refresh their minds, and so on and so forth with how we’re trying to attack each of those situations.

“We are pretty fortunate. We’ve got 40-45 guys signed up to be up here right away in Track A. So we’re going to have a good group working out on campus for the whole summer, (and) anywhere from 60 to 65 for Track B. So, all of the things that we’re trying to do right now, obviously, we can’t coach in the summer, but we’re hoping our leadership, when they’re doing 7-on-7s, or individual workouts on their own, that they can carry over the lessons.

Mettlach and his staff have been focusing on things that the team’s leadership can carry forward into the Summer months.

“We’ve been hammering home (things), for the last couple of weeks in spring ball, on their own in the summer, which would carry over into fall camp,” he said. “I think that’s one of the positives. Obviously, you have a strong leadership in the locker room, or a bunch of vets that understand the game, that helps out when we’re not around to be able to essentially coach it, when we’re not there, as long as those lessons have been taught the right way in Spring, which, obviously, I feel like they have been.

“So, that part is good as well. Again, (with) that many guys being around in the summertime, (it) helps all that, because if you get through Spring ball, and the entire team disappears for three months, how much carryover is there going to be, or whatever. Who knows at that point?”

The main focus for the Huskies’ coaching staff moving forward is not about how make their top guys better, instead it is about improving team depth by working with players who need more reps to develop their skill sets.

“It is very valuable, I think, especially at our level,” Mettlach said. “We are constantly trying to develop depth at every position. I think, you start to go down the levels from DI to FCS to DII, that’s where the biggest differences are. We’ve got plenty of guys that start for us that are talented enough to play for any team in our league.

“What we need to close the gap on is when those particular guys have to come off the field for a play or two, or, God forbid, there’s an injury, that guy that’s next in line, the drop off can’t be as drastic as it’s been for us to be able to compete at a high level. So, that’s our biggest goal.”