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ATHENS, Ohio -- When Tim Albin was promoted to head coach just over three weeks ago on July 14 following the retirement of longtime head coach Frank Solich, he knew he had a culture to uphold. Albin began his 17^th season in the program and first as head coach by calling at least one parent from every player on the roster.

"We're going to continue to embrace and build upon the tradition that Coach Solich put in place here," Albin said. "And so, number one, transparency with the staff and the parents. That's top priority."

In the two weeks that Albin has been head coach, he's had hardly any time to relax. Just six days after the announcement, Albin had his first opportunity to face a large conglomerate of media at the MAC Media Day in Detroit.

Between coaching, media engagements and the nonstop grind of recruiting, Albin's quick trip to Detroit was a "vacation" as he put it.

"Yeah, Brooke and I got away; we went to Detroit for a couple days" Albin said with a laugh. His real vacations come when he gets to spend time at home with his daughter, Tori, who is in traveling nurse school at Rio Grande and his son, Treyce, who is a senior in college.

"When I go home and see my family that's kind of how I escape," he said.

The biggest tradition that Solich left at Ohio is winning. Albin's predecessor left Ohio as the winningest coach in MAC history with a 115-82 record in 16 seasons. He also led the Bobcats to four MAC Championship appearances and 11 bowl game appearances with three-straight wins from 2017-2019.

Albin has already made strides towards that winning tradition by bringing in a familiar face, former Ohio quarterback Tyler Tettleton as his first hire as a head coach.

Tettleton was an easy pick to bring onto the staff simply due to the success that he had with Albin with the Bobcats from 2009-2013. In his four years of playing at Ohio, Tettleton threw a program-best 9,129 career yards as well as setting records for most all-time attempts (1,176), touchdowns (67) and highest completion percentage (.643).

The former Ohio quarterback also brought the team to two MAC title games and won a more special award in the weight room, rarely earned by quarterbacks. Tettleton's former offensive coordinator is first on the committee to build him a statue.

Tettleton will also be there to help reflect his experience onto Ohio's competing quarterbacks, Armani Rogers and Kurtis Rourke.

"He's got his diploma, he's in the hall of fame," Albin said. "He wrote all the record books; he was the first to win back to back bowl games. He's done it all, and that will help the development with those guys."

While there were not many good outcomes of the pandemic for Albin and his staff, he did gain the advantage of seeing his players more often in the spring.

Since recruiters for Ohio weren't able to leave Athens and bring in more talent until June, the Bobcats have been able to get more time with the players already on the roster, which should be key in potentially the most competitive conference in college football. The MAC has had six different champions in the last six seasons.

"Without question, in my 16 years here the league top to bottom is the best it's ever been," Albin said. "When you leave your home site and you go on the road in this league, it doesn't matter what the records are."

The Bobcats will have plenty of experience on the field and in those road games thanks to the amount of "super seniors" that stayed on the team after being granted an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic. According to Albin, the team won't even be electing captains until well into camp due to the number of leaders on the team.

As Albin leads the Bobcats onto the field this season, he will be doing so from a new perspective.

Albin last time spent as a head coach was at Northwestern Oklahoma State, where he went 25-8 in three seasons before joining Solich's staff in Nebraska as a graduate assistant in 2000. Albin came to Ohio with Solich as an offensive coordinator in 2005, a role he's held until his promotion this season.

His new role comes in a familiar spot as his predecessor, who had to follow Nebraska's greatest head coach ever, Tom Osborne. In watching Solich being tasked with filling those shoes, he's learned how to handle being next after an all-time great.

"I was there, and I witnessed firsthand how coach Solich followed the GOAT in coach Osborne," Albin said. "I saw how he protected the spirit and the culture that coach Osborne had in place, he made it his own."

Albin also plans on keeping Solich involved in the Ohio program because nobody knows it better. He also knows that he can't do it himself and that he can't be a running back coach and a head coach at the same time.

Heading into his 17^th season at Ohio and his first as head coach, Albin is ready to continue embrace a culture of winning.

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