The Technicians of Cass Tech are entering the season coming off a 9-4, a PSL Championship, and a trip to MHSAA SemiFinals, where they came up just short vs. Belleville.
While they lose starting Quarterback Leeshaun Mumpfield, they like their rival, the Crusaders of Martin Luther King, have two players vying for the starting job in So. Corey Sadler Jr, and Jr. Seth Sentry. Both players had opportunities under center last year. When coach Marvin Rushing talked about both players, he said that Sadler was the top guy, but nothing has been earned, and nothing will be given.
If the Technicians do use Sadler as QB1, they’ll lose the ability to use Sadler all over the field, which is what he is best at. So they could look to Sendry to lead the team, but as Rushing said, “Nothing is set in stone,” and they will use all of camp to their advantage. It will also be later when the players get their jersey numbers. That is something that the players, according to Rushing, fight for with their play on the field.
Sadler returns to the football team after winning a basketball State Title for the school. He is a leader on both teams and as Receiver Cashus Shivers put it, “He brings that leadership to the football field,” Rushing said the same about Sadler. Not only does Rushing have Sadler returning, but he also brought in two other basketball players to help with a championship culture because if they get complacent, they get stagnant. If they get stagnant, they won’t reach their goals, according to Rushing.
The Technicians have also hired a new Defensive Coordinator in Culley Robinson. This is a promotion for Robinson as he’s been on staff with the Technicians for the last few years, and Coach Rushing said, “A lot of what we’ve done we are going to maintain,” however, as he put it, it’s a different philosophy to the same approach. He did go on to say you may see them get a little more aggressive at points. They also brought in Kason Dickerson as the Assistant Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs coach. He will help push the team and help with becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. Rushing wants input from all his coaches; he said that some coaches made suggestions after the game versus Belleville that they could have had a different outcome if they had been said during the game.
The Technicians will open the season at the Xenith Prep Kickoff Classic against Southfield A&T on August 26 at 1 p.m. The week after, they will travel to Youngstown State to face off against St. Joseph Regional(NJ). The Technicians will open PSL play on September 8 as they host Detroit Renaissance. At the end of the season, Cass Tech will also take place in an Operation Friendship game versus the winner of the Catholic League on October 20 at Ford Field.