TOWSON, Md. — Towson University head football coach Rob Ambrose knows with a new football season comes a chance re-establish that winning mindset around his program.
"That’s just the combination of doing things the right way enough," he said. "We didn’t do it well enough last year. But, we’re doing it better now than we did all last year."
His Tigers are coming off an underwhelming 4-7 season in 2021. The four wins were the fewest for Towson since 2016. The look of the 2022 Tigers will be different. 56 new players make up a retooled roster.
"Kind of like dating, you really don’t know what you’re in for, right? But in this, the one thing I know about the guy next to me is he loves this game and I love this game and we have got something to go on from there," said Ambrose.
Almost every quarterback who saw playing time last year is gone. Six QB’s are competing for the starting job during training camp, including former Maryland Terrapins starter Tyrrell Pigrome. He transferred in from Mississippi, where he saw no game action last year.
"It feels good to be back. Everything is going smooth. Really just being back in Maryland, I like the area too. I like the coaches, like the vibes," he said.
"He is clearly talented. It’s not like I haven’t seen him play before," added Ambrose. "He sees that it’s his job to meld himself to the program and the people in it and he is doing a really good job. He is picking up the language pretty quick."
Pigrome is on his fourth team in seven years. After playing in 34 games for the Terps from 2016-2019 he transferred to Western Kentucky for the 2020 season before landing at Ole Miss in 2021.
On defense, the Tigers are looking for new leaders to emerge. They lose their top five tacklers from last season. Senior defensive lineman Vinnie Shaffer thinks they’ll be just fine.
"At first you don’t have the team chemistry but as the days went on, I think this is the sixth practice, everybody is coming together," he said. "The new guys are filling in their place. Everybody is loving up on each other. It’s just great to see."
Towson is picked to finish 11th in the 13-team Colonial Athletic Association. They open the season on September 3, at Bucknell. Then it’s the Battle for Greater Baltimore on September 10, at home, against Morgan State.
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