Dennis Gardeck sat down for post-game interviews still clad in full football gear, from helmet to spikes. The "7" on the front of the West Virginia State linebacker's jersey was torn in the top right corner and flapping loose. About a half-hour after the Yellow Jackets' season came to an end with a 42-36 home loss to West Liberty, the sophomore didn't seem ready to let the 2015 campaign go.
And he wasn't going to hesitate in getting ready for the 2016 campaign.
"I know I'll be in the weight room tomorrow," he said.
He'll have plenty of company in that offseason training.
The Yellow Jackets might have just missed on its first winning season since 2008, finishing 5-6 overall and 5-5 in the Mountain East Conference. But most of the players who helped make their three-win improvement from last season possible will return.
West Virginia State has made some pretty big leaps since head coach Jon Anderson arrived before the 2013 season. After going winless in 2013, State went 2-9 in 2014 before flirting with a winning record this year.
"Progress was definitely made this year, and that's outstanding," Anderson said. "We needed to make that progress and we came a long way. But the coaching staff and myself, we're not interested in progress. We're interested in winning championships and making playoffs. We've got some things to continue to do to get to that level."
One step will be greater consistency in finishing close games. State dropped a couple this season, which quarterback Matt Kinnick said will stick in his craw for a while.
"I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities and that hurts," he said. "It's just motivation going into the offseason."
There were triumphs when the games got tight. The Yellow Jackets earned three-point wins over Notre Dame College and Glenville State and rallied from four touchdowns down to beat the University of Virginia College at Wise. But they also gave Urbana its only conference win this year, on a last-second touchdown at Lakin Field. And West Liberty didn't lead WVSU until the game's last 90 seconds, but it was enough for the win.
That West Liberty loss, where State led by as many as 16 in the third quarter, was especially frustrating, Gardeck said.
"I don't think it's the wins that will drive us through this offseason," he said. "I think it's this game right here. You learn more from the losses than the wins."
In terms of personnel losses, State won't suffer many. Of the 22 starters on offense and defense against West Liberty, all but six return. That includes Kinnick, the MEC's only 3,000-yard passer this season, Gardeck, the conference leader with 11 sacks and second in the MEC with 22 tackles for a loss, and receiver Quinton Gray, who averaged 6.22 catches and 97.6 yards per game. Of the 48 players who saw action this past Saturday, 37 return.
Kinnick said that the volume of experience the Yellow Jackets have coming back is exciting, and should help the team get closer to the goals it seeks.
"We know we're right there," Kinnick said. "We just have to take that next step now. It'll take a great offseason and we need guys to buy in. The older guys have bought in and we need to bring the younger guys along."
Anderson is happy that continuity will exist, but he cautioned that experience won't be a rubber stamp to an on-field role. He wants some sections of the team to rise up and meet the others. Kinnick lifted the Yellow Jackets to the second-best passing offense in the MEC, but the running game was ninth in the 11-team league. The offense more than doubled its scoring output from last season (13.1 points per game to 30.5), but the defense allowed nine more points per game (28.0 to 37.2).
As much as State improved in 2015, Anderson feels there's room for more, and he'll continue looking for the right lineup to get there.
"I hope they know, and this may sound harsh when I say it, that I'm going to try and recruit past every single one of them," Anderson said. "There will be new guys coming in and guys coming off redshirts and they had better compete. It's my job to out-recruit them. It's their job to earn jobs.
"I think that sounds harsh, but that's the reality," he continued. "We do have a number of guys coming back, and that's great. There are some very, very good football players there. But we need to continue to build this football team and stockpile as much talent as we can."