The ACU Wildcats are hard at work preparing for the upcoming season, but there are still areas to improve on as it is only early June.

Tristan Golightly said, “Yeah there’s still a lot of work to be done for sure. You know we got a lot of new guys coming in and trying to get them acclimated and we’ve got some returning guys, we just gotta get back into it though.”

Most college students go home for the summer. Athletes do not do that. They take classes and work out. The two months between the end of the school year and the start of official practice are important.

Maverick McIvor said, “Summers huge for any program especially us. We’ve got a lot of new freshman coming in and a lot of new transfers coming in. So kind of getting them bought into the culture here, and teaching everybody and getting everybody coached up for game one.”

Jermiah Dobbins said, “Running wise, we got a lot more intensity and more yardage on our legs. We running a lot, lifting a lot more weights, we got better nutrition stuff to make us work more harder and be able to go harder during workouts.”

“You know outside we’re doing a lot more intense running, inside in here in the weight room we’re doing a lot more high volume stuff, lower reps, just more weight and more intensity. But, you know we got Lucas, our strength coach now. So, he’s getting us into it, he’s doing real good at it. We’re excited to have him help us get ready for it,” said Golightly.

This isn’t the first year for summer workouts at Abilene Christian, but it is, according to the quarterback, the toughest and longest.

McIvor added, “I think they’re really stepping it up this summer, last summer was hard but this summer is crazy. I mean, we’re putting in two hours straight of running and lifting a day. So, then we’re coming back fresh in the afternoon. So, I mean it’s awesome and we love it and it’s just making us better.”

The Wildcats season opener is against Northern Colorado on August 31st.