In a matter of hours, Alejandro Bennifield and other returning members of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team transition from on-field "enemies" to mentors.
And servants.
Coach Tom Arth has split up the practices in his first preseason heading the program. Returning players and transfers with prior college playing experience have been working in the afternoon session - in the heat of the day - while those without college playing experience are practicing in the evening at Finley Stadium.
The younger group has been able to get plenty of time to get acclimated to the college game. They work out in the mornings, then go through installation meetings with the returning players. After that, they review the practice script before heading out to watch the afternoon practice. Once that ends, they go back to meetings, watch video of the afternoon practice and get a chance to see necessary corrections that need to be made before practicing on their own.
With a third of the team's roster being young players, the extra time is necessary. Meanwhile, returning players fix peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and trail mix before going out to watch the evening practice, as well as mentor.
"I know how it is for those guys," said starting quarterback Bennifield, who spent a lot of time Monday night with freshmen Dominic Caldwell and Cole Copeland. "Coming in as a freshman, you don't know what's going on; you don't know the plays; there's new footwork, new drills, and it can all be kind of nerve-racking, being introduced to all these new things. So I'm just there to calm them down, tell them they're doing good and that everything is going to be OK.
"I feel like they've responded pretty well."
The veterans also have responded pretty well, dealing with the elements. Temperatures have been in the 90s for the first two afternoon practices, and at times emotions have run equally as high - although those emotions have been limited to the practice field. Arth hasn't had to coach emotions early in the preseason, a good thing going forward.
"Guys want to compete at a high level," defensive end Taylor Reynolds said. "As long as we do that, keep each other safe, everybody's good. We need to be competitive every day. Whether it's hot or it's 60, we've got to come out here with the same mentality to get better and work on our craft."
After today's practices, the groups will have their first joint practice Friday. Arth said the three days for the new players will serve as an important start for the coaching staff to evaluate who might be able to contribute this season. That's why it was important to him for the older players to be able to do something for those younger players, hence the availability of sandwiches.
"There's something very powerful in serving your teammates, particularly when you're the upperclassman," Arth said. "When you're a senior and you've got a freshman coming here, welcoming them that way and treating them with that type of respect is going to help connect our program in a special way that's so important. In this game you need every single person on the team to be the best they can be; we're going to go as far as those young guys go."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.