For the first time in nine months, Ferris football head coach Tony Annese and his team are back to compete for another championship.
Annese’s return comes a game after his team, as the Bulldogs were without him due to a one-game suspension in their 21-14 loss to Grand Valley in the first round of the NCAA DII playoffs.
The suspension hung over the 2023-24 season with the NCAA ruling of a one-game suspension in the 2023-24 playoffs being announced on March 23, 2023. With the suspension come and gone, Annese reflected on his one-game absence last November.
“That was one of the worst feelings of my life,” Annese said. “At the end of the day, it’s just football, right? But from my professional experience, obviously, you have personal issues that are different, but [for a] professional issue that was one of the biggest challenges I faced. It was heartbreaking. It’s past us, thank God.”
Annese later added that the ruling “emotionally wore him down” and he now feels “mentally free” entering the season with nothing hanging over the team.
The Bulldog head coach’s absence, although not a reason for the loss, stayed on the players’ minds during the game. One player sported an undershirt that read “Free TA” during the contest against Grand Valley. Annese was allowed to coach practices the week of the playoff game but was not allowed to be present at Lubbers Stadium for the game.
Assistant head coach Brian Rock, who filled in as head coach for the playoff game, knows how important Annese is to the team.
“Tony’s the emotional leader of this football team,” Rock said. “His presence is incredibly important.”
Rock also stated that anytime a season ends in a loss, it’s natural to “live with a little chip on your shoulder and that you have something to prove.”
For returning senior wide receiver Tyrese Hunt-Thompson, the chip is on his shoulder but there’s a lot more to handle before avenging last season’s loss.
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Hunt-Thompson said. “It’s definitely probably in the back of my teammates’ minds. But as of now, we’re not really focused on it. We’ll focus on that when that gets there.”
Hunt-Thompson spoke positively about Annese’s suspension being in the past, believing that “it’ll be better” having him with the team.
The Bulldogs now enter the 2024-25 campaign unburdened by any lingering punishments. With the Bulldogs chosen to be frontrunners for the GLIAC title and a top-5 ranking, the expectation for Ferris is to return to championship contention.
In order to right the Bulldogs’ ship, Annese knows what must be emphasized.
“We just got to control the controllable,” Annese said. “[We need to] make sure we just stay locked in. Positive energy is critically important. I’m going to really kind of talk about that and really have positive leadership. I think those are things that’ll help us to be really good this year.”
Annese will coach his first game in 294 days when the no. 3 ranked Bulldogs enter a top-10 clash against the no. 6 ranked Pittsburg State Gorillas at Carnie Smith Stadium in Pittsburg, Kan. on August 31 at 8 p.m.