Jul 255 min read

Departures, Additions Theme of Day 2 of CAA Media Days

The second day of CAA Media Days concluded earlier this morning (the day one recap can be found here), with the focus being on departing programs and the additions of a couple of new coaches to the conference.

Blue Hens Focused on Strong FCS Finish

In spite of not being able to play in the FCS Championship this season, the goal is still the game for Delaware and coach Ryan Carty.

"The goals remain the same as far as winning each game that we play," Carty said. "We want to go out there and take it as a one-game season and be as methodical as we can and that won't change. Addressing [our situation this year] is not as hard as we make it out to be sometimes."

Carty said his team in only concerned with winning the day.

"When you're in the day-to-day, we're worried about making sure we win each day," Carty said. "We're making sure our workouts are great and that we have 100-percent effort and we're getting better every day."

While Delaware has had success in the FCS, the Blue Hens will make the jump to the FBS when they join Conference USA next season. Carty said he is proud of what Delaware has accomplished in the FCS.

"I grew up in this," Carty said. "I obviously played in it, and I've only coached in it. I have a great passion for, and love for what has gotten us to this point, and I think that's part of the tradition of what has propelled us to our next spot."

The Blue Hens open the 2024 season at home, hosting Bryant in a conference game on Aug. 29.

Richmond's Last CAA Stand

The Spiders are also departing the conference following the 2024 season, moving to the Patriot League following the 2024-2025 year. Coach Russ Huesman, however, wanted to keep the focus squarely on this season.

CAA Media Day — © Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

"We'll think about [our time in the CAA] when the season's over," Huesman said. "All's we're concerned about is the CAA, this football season and how can we do our best in the league this year. When the season's over then we'll kinda figure out what direction we had."

The Spiders open the season on the road at Virginia on Aug. 31.

Campbell's Braxton Harris Happy to Be Home

After leaving for a season to take over as the coach of Houston Christian, Braxton Harris is back with the Camels, where he was a linebackers coach in 2021 and 2022. Harris focused on how much his family liked the area on why he came back after a year away.

"There's not many times in your life your wife is OK with moving in back-to-back years," Harris said. "So that tells you how our holistic family feels about Campbell, about the people that are here."

He also heaped praise on the conference.

"This is a premier conference in the nation," Harris said. "This is a conference that leads the way and paves the way and it's a football conference to be able to get multiple teams in year-in and year-out to the playoffs. You're competing against the absolute best every single year."

The Camels open the season on the road at Liberty on Aug. 31.

Trent Boykin Takes Over Hampton

First-year interim coach Trent Boykin takes over at Hampton following three years as the running backs coach. He said he feels like the transition for him and the team has been very seamless, due to his knowledge of the program.

"[The transition's] been great," Boykin said. "We've been enjoying it. A lot of work. Some early mornings, some late nights, but it's been fun and exciting to be in this position and get this thing rolling."

He mentioned that his experience as a coach previously at other programs has helped with the transition.

"I think I'm a lot more wiser and older at this point," Boykin said. "I probably take all my faults from the first time and [have] been able to say 'don't do this', 'be better at this', and I think that's helped me tremendously."

Hampton start the 2024 campaign by hosting Morgan State on Aug. 31.

Elon Looks to Improve on Strong 2023

Elon coach Tony Trisciani focused on how proud he has been of how consistent his teams have been, while acknowledging that there is still work to be done to get to the levels he knows the program can get to.

"[I'm] real proud of the job we've done as a program here, really since COVID," Trisciani said. "The consistency that we've had in our program. Over the last three years finishing in the top three in the conference in 2021 and 22 and last year again being one game away from sharing a conference championship. The goal of our program is to really push our program forward, that's what everybody in this building is focused on and working toward, and winning a CAA Championship. Proud of our guys on how we've attacked this offseason and been knocking on the door here for the last couple of years, this year we want to knock it down."

Elon kicks off the 2024 season on Aug. 30 traveling to Durham, N.C., to face Duke.

Vinvent Brown Building Culture at North Carolina A&T

North Carolina A&T's second-year coach Vincent Brown is focused on building his culture with the Aggies, instilling his coaching philosophy into the program.

"We've been primarily focused on continuing to build the culture of excellence, both on the field and in the classroom and in the community," Brown said. "Our kids have done a tremendous job of being servant leaders, doing community service, our academics have improved. The closeness of our team has improved immensely."

Brown said he is much more comfortable with the identity of the team right now than he was at this point last year.

The Aggies begin the 2024 season on the road on Aug. 29, traveling to Wake Forest to face to Demon Deacons.

Towson Building on Bedrock

Another team with a second-year coach that looks to build on the bedrock that was laid last season is Towson. Coming off of a 5-6 season under Pete Shinnick, the team looks to build off of the strong finish they had to the season.

"We finished well, obviously winning at home against Rhode Island, who I think if they beat us they probably have a chance to make the playoffs," Shinnick said. "So very pleased with that, but then we had some losses that were extremely disappointing. We were not as consistent as we needed to be to be a top team in the CAA, and that's something that we've really been stressing since the season ended—to be a much more consistent football program."

Looking forward to the upcoming season, Shinnick focused on the level of comfort and understanding the players have of the coaches and vice versa.

"A much higher level of comfort and understanding of everything that we're doing," Shinnick said. "From the offensive side of the ball to defense, to special teams, as well as culture, and how we're expecting them to meet the expectations and standard that we've set continually."

Towson begins the 2024 season on the road on Aug. 31, traveling to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats.

William & Mary Putting 2023 in the Past

Coming off of a season where the Tribe were ranked No. 4 in the preseason coaches poll, but finished with a disappointing 6-5 record, coach Mike London looks to put that squarely behind the team and focus on the present.

"The mindset and the mentality hasn't changed about chasing championships," London said. "Surround yourself with good players, good coaches like we have. Injuries are part of the game, but you gotta rebound, respond, and come back from those types of things. So the resiliency of this team that has returned is [there]. All we talk about is championships."

The Tribe open the 2024 season by hosting VMI on Aug. 29.