By Collin Brooks

Correspondent

Standing off to the side of the first East Tennessee State football practice, eyes scouring the field during each play, you’d think the stoic figure might be a recruiter or coach.

Jerry Robertson is neither, although he’s put in just as many hours over the past 11 years as any coach, to make sure that ETSU football would be again.

The former longtime head trainer for ETSU athletics, whose name encompasses the Athletic Medicine Center on the campus, was a integral part of getting Buccaneer football back. He was also the first person to address the ETSU team during the Buccaneers’ first practice on Monday.