JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — After enjoying a week-long break, the ETSU football team has returned to the practice field with renewed determination to win the remaining games of the season.

Senior quarterback Cade McNamara is expected to miss the rest of the season after sustaining an injury during the first quarter of their homecoming victory over Wofford. Meanwhile, Head Coach Will Healy expressed optimism about the potential comeback of seasoned quarterback Jacolby Criswell.

“Jacolby has shown significant progress, and we’re eager to see how he performs in practice this week,” Healy remarked.

Despite this optimism, Coach Healy is cautious about rushing Criswell back into action before he’s completely ready for the remainder of the season.

“Before making any decisions, we need to assess on Friday and Saturday whether he appears fit to endure three more weeks of football,” Healy explained. “At this moment, I don’t believe he’s quite there. Ideally, we would like him back this week, but it might be more realistic to aim for next week.”

If Criswell isn’t ready to go, Healy noted that Jake McNamara and Jackson Byrd are both preparing to take the reins under center.

The Bucs enter the matchup 4–5 overall and 2–3 in Southern Conference play, looking for their first road win of the season. Historically, ETSU is 4–5 against Samford, but came out on top in last year’s meeting in Johnson City, winning 27–24.

Samford (1–8, 1–6 SoCon) has struggled this season, with its lone win coming against VMI. The bulldogs are led by head coach Chris Hatcher, who’s in his 11th season with the team. Samford also has a deep quarterback room with senior Quincy Crittendon, freshman Brady Stober and sophomore Charlie Gilliam. But Healy said Coach Hatcher’s high-tempo offense is what poses the biggest threat come Saturday.

“Hatch in general, his offenses give you problems,” Healy said. “Their tempo is very fast, they’ll have some trick plays, and they’ll find some way to create matchups. They’ll use their tempo to their advantage. And their players understand their scheme really well. They bring a little bit of a different dynamic, and that worries you when you’re preparing for three different quarterbacks.”

While Samford’s rotating quarterback group may keep the ETSU defense on its toes, the Bucs have a “three-headed monster” of their own in the backfield. Running back Devontae Houston leads the way, averaging nearly 90 rushing yards per game, with solid support from Jason Albritton and Khalil Eichelberger.

ETSU will look to ride that ground game and a renewed sense of momentum when they kick off against Samford on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Birmingham.