Can you believe football season is already almost back? It feels like just yesterday the UT Permian Basin football team wrapped up its second-winningest season in program history – which also marked the program's first-ever back-to-back winning seasons.

But that's in the past, and Head Football Coach Kris McCullough and his staff are ready to get back on the gridiron.

"Man, I feel like we are so close, but yet so far away," said McCullough. "We have got a lot of work to put in before we get there, but it's right around the corner as well. We have got to get rolling, help the guys finish the summer strong and then start camp. We have got 24 days to get ready."

The Falcons will hold their first Fall camp practice on August 6, and as that date approaches, the focus is shifting to conditioning and leadership.

"Hopefully we are conditioned enough to get through practice without needing a ton of water breaks or long pauses," said McCullough. "But more than that, I want to see our top guys stepping into leadership roles. This needs to be a player-led team, not a coach-led one."

Another key area this Fall will be testing the team's physicality—particularly in the trenches.

"Physicality in the trenches, I think that's something that we may have missed last year and that's what the championship level teams have," continued McCullough. "We are going to find that real fast, whenever we can put the pads on, how physical we're going to be."

With a season opener against top-five nationally-ranked Central Oklahoma looming, the Falcons will need to hit the ground running in camp to prepare for a high-stakes matchup.

"Facing a top-five team in the country, I probably will not really know where we are until we step on the field," said McCullough. "But going into Fall camp, I think the biggest thing is, making sure I feel like we're good through the first three installs. From a knowledge and football IQ standpoint and also knowing how to practice the right way – be physical, but also take care of each other."

Last season, the Falcons entered "Week 0" with several key players already banged up. Staying healthy this time around will be a major priority for McCullough and his staff.

"Making sure we have our horses available for Saturday is the biggest thing," added McCullough. "Balancing being ready for game day while still having the physical Fall camp that we need."

The Falcons will kick off the season at home against the University of Central Oklahoma on Saturday, August 30, at Astound Broadband Stadium, with kickoff set for 6 p.m..