NASSAU, Bahamas – Toledo held its second of three practices in its lead up to the 2021 Bahamas Bowl, conducting a walk-through on Wednesday to help prep for Friday's contest against Middle Tennessee State (12:00 p.m./ESPN).
The Rockets' light practice on Wednesday took place on a turf field just outside Thomas A. Robinson Stadium, the site of Friday's Bahamas Bowl. After practice, head coach Jason Candle, senior safety Tycen Anderson, and senior offensive lineman Bryce Harris fielded questions from the media in a press conference at the stadium. Middle Tennessee State head coach Rick Stockstill and two MTSU players spoke with the media as well, and both head coaches took a photo with the Bahamas Bowl trophy. Players had the rest of the day on Wednesday to relax and enjoy the amenities at Atlantis.
With Wednesday being National Signing Day, Coach Candle and his staff were also busy wrapping up an 18-player class that was announced earlier in the day.
Toledo will hold its final practice on Thursday morning.
Quotes from Wednesday's press conference:
Head Coach Jason Candle
"We're honored to be here in the Bahamas for this football game. We have been humbled by all the hospitality and great support we've been shown here. After the last year-and-a-half I don't think anybody in college athletics has the opportunity to take anything for granted, and we definitely do not take the opportunity to play in this game lightly. We're honored to be here and excited to play a football game on Friday."
"It's been a great week so far. We've had tremendous weather. As they say, bowl games are better in the Bahamas and we're experiencing that first-hand. This is a first-class event and we're staying at a first-class facility in Atlantis. This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience for our players. Many of our players may never have a chance to travel outside the country, so to do it like this an eye-opening experience."
"This is unlike any other bowl game or any other experience you can have in college football. This is a five-star resort that people fly to from all over the world to come and see. We're blessed and honored to be a part of this football game."
On National Signing Day
"I think it's a great class. Obviously being down here changes the logistics of getting a class signed, but hats off to our recruiting coordinator Ricky Ciccone and his staff for doing a great job of seeing this class all the way through. I think our staff did a good job of building solid relationships with these young men. We're losing some really good players that will be hard to replace, but we try to do the best job we can of finding guys that fit out culture and I think we did that. I'm excited for these guys to get to Toledo."
Senior safety Tycen Anderson
On his experience at the Bahamas Bowl
"We've been enjoying everything a lot. I was here in 2018, so being able to revisit some of the places we went to last time brought back some fun memories. I've been enjoying the water and some of the different water slides with my teammates."
On playing his final game as a Rocket this Friday
"It's a special feeling but a little sad at the same time. I came into college as a 17-year old kid and I'm 22 now with only a couple days left in my Rocket career. I think we're leaving the leaders on this team in a good spot for next season. It's definitely sad that I'll be putting on my jersey for the last time ever on Friday, but I'm going to be a Rocket forever. I'm from Toledo, I'll be cheering on the Rockets until the day I die."
Senior offensive lineman Bryce Harris
On his experience at the Bahamas Bowl
"I love food, so I've been going to different restaurants trying different types of food. Coach Candle challenged us to try some new food, so I've been trying to do that this week, I've tried lamb chops and crab cakes for the first time, which was cool. I haven't been in the water yet. I'm going to try to do that today. It's been a great experience."
On playing his final game as a Rocket this Friday
"Like Tycen said, there are a lot of mixed emotions right now. This is also my seventh year playing college football, so it's about time I do get out of here. But I've just been soaking it all in. Yesterday was my last fully-padded practice as a Rocket, so I practiced as hard as I possibly could. And I'm going to give it my all at the game on Friday to go out the right way."
