Tight end Ryan Schwendeman blogs about Saluki road trip to UT Martin

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois tight end Ryan Schwendeman offers StrongDawgs readers an inside look at the trip to UT Martin from a player’s perspective.

If you’re not yet a paid subscriber to StrongDawgs, please consider subscribing or making a donation to help fund player NIL opportunities such as this.

Ryan Schwendeman Blog

Friday, Sept. 12

11:45 AM

I arrived at the Boydston Center around 11:45. We had a snack of Panda Express waiting for us, which was nice. After I finished that, I headed to the training room to hop in the ice bath before we hit the road. I normally get at least one of those on the day of a game or the day before we travel. Ten minutes in the ice tub can seem like an eternity sometimes, but luckily, Tom asked me to write this piece so it is going by quicker. After this, we have meetings and a walkthrough before we get on the bus. I’ll check back in once we hit the road.

3:30 PM

After we had meetings and a walk-through at the stadium, I took a quick shower and headed to the bus. There were a few plays I was glad to get the chance to practice again. For overnight trips, we park in the lot by the soccer field, so it was a pretty good walk to get over there, but then I was greeted with some Smoothie King. This was much appreciated and hope we get it again this season. I am very thankful that this bus ride is much shorter than last week's trip to West Lafayette. We’re staying tonight at the Holiday Inn Riverfront in Paducah, so only about an hour-long drive.

5:30 PM

We arrived at 4:45 and had a short grace period before we met as a team in a large ballroom to eat dinner together. Dinner was really good, with steak, mashed potatoes and lasagna. There was even bread waiting for us in baskets like at Texas Roadhouse. Once we all had finished eating, it was time for the last offensive film session before the game. Coach Hill and Coach (Ryan) McVicker do a great job showing us which looks we are going to get tomorrow. After that, Coach (Nate) Griffin gave the tight ends his last words of advice before we headed back to our rooms. Each night before a game, I like to go through the call sheet and write out my assignment for each play. It’s important to be 100 percent certain on your assignment, no matter if we run that play five times or just once. An evening snack was provided in the lobby, and then it was time to find something to watch on TV. My roommate is fellow tight end AJ Quinn. He usually gets to decide what we watch and picked SportsCenter.

Saturday, Sept. 13

8:30 AM

Began the day by heading downstairs for a continental breakfast and a walkthrough. We watched College Gameday up until it was time for brunch at 10:30. It was really good, the hash browns were fantastic. Got back to our room around 11 and turned on Clemson vs Georgia Tech. It’s nice to visualize yourself making plays, and I can do that by watching other games.

2:00 PM

After another great meal in the ballroom, it was time for the last walkthrough before the game. The bus ride to UT Martin’s stadium will take about an hour. I'll use that time to watch more film and relax to some music. It’s important to visualize yourself making the right plays before the game.

9:30 PM

It was a great team win! We  dominated all three phases of the game and the result was never in doubt. I am really proud of how the boys played. Very grateful that the bus ride back to Carbondale is only two hours. We will get back around midnight, which is much better than last week’s time of 4 or 5 a.m. (it was so late I can’t even remember). Back to work tomorrow! Time to bring the wheel back home.