By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

When the Fort Hays State University football team wrapped up its only scrimmage of fall camp, the Tigers were less than two weeks away from the start of the 2008 season, the TIgers' third as a member of the powerful Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association.

Now, just one day away from kickoff at Lewis Field Stadium, it's time to find out if some of the Tigers' offseason acquisitions and a new sense of confidence in their offensive weapons will pay off.

"We'll be clicking 100 percent," said junior transfer quarterback Mike Garrison.

The Butler County Community College product, quarterback of last year's junior college national champion Grizzlies, will lead the Tigers onto the field Thursday as they kick off the season with a 7 p.m. game against former Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference foe New Mexico Highlands University in the Holiday Inn Kickoff Classic.

Fort Hays is one of five MIAA schools playing as early as possible with a Thursday start and the Tigers will be looking for their second straight 2-0 start in non-conference play. It starts with Highlands.

"I would have played last night if they would let us," said Tiger fourth-year coach Kevin Verdugo. "Our players are ready to go out there and play. The coaches are ready. We're kind of tired of going out and seeing each other."

"It's time to see someone else out on the field, and test ourselves to see where we are," he added.

Where Fort Hays (4-7 overall a year ago, 2-7 in the MIAA) would like to see improvement is in a stagnant offense that has ranked at or near the bottom in every statistical category the last two seasons in the conference. In order to match a defense that put up some MIAA-leading performances last season, Fort Hays beefed up its offense with some speed, both out of the backfield and down the field, plus added a quarterback with winning experience in Garrison.

The addition of junior transfer running back Anthony Dickson from Los Angeles Valley College should provide that speed in the backfield, and using NCAA Division II national 200-meter dash indoor champion Bryan Haynes as a full-time wideout will add to a talented receiving corps.

"I can draw it up on the grease board all day 90 different ways and it looks good," Verdugo said. "But without guys with some speed and ability, it doesn't work as well when you get out there.

"We feel real comfortable and confident in these guys," he added.

With Garrison under center, junior Jacobb Irvin is slotted in the starting tailback role with Dickson second in line for Thursday's game. Garrison looks to have a quality backup in sophomore Anthony Smith, who spent time as a backup last season. Smith saw limited action but was used for his running ability.

Smith will look to use that athletic ability in the passing game, but as a receiver, one of several in a deep pool at the position.

"We have a lot of speed and a lot of big play breakers this year," Smith said.

The Tigers will open with a Highlands team that has undergone several changes in the past year -- a new coach, and about four dozen new players with a heap of transfers thrown into the mix.

The numerous changes didn't allow the Tiger staff to get a good feel for the Cowboys, but Verdugo is confident if his team plays to its ability, 1-0 shouldn't be out of reach.

"It's been a situation where they've had a coaching change and everything has changed," Verdugo said. "We know they have 22 transfers this year -- 49 new players in all on their roster."

Depending on what the Cowboys bring to the table defensively, Thursday's game might not see a great deal of Fort Hays' new offensive threats. In a game where teams aren't familiar with each other, it's better to keep things simple and go out and play.

"Keep your game plan as vanilla as you can, so if you have to make changes, you are able to to do that without a great deal of thought to get that done," Verdugo said.

Fort Hays started its game planning a little earlier with this being a Thursday contest. Normally, the Tigers would begin on Tuesday, then work the through the week. This go-round, Fort Hays used today as a Friday in their game preparations.

"We're feeling really good. Our defense is improved and our offense has improved a lot and we're flying around," Haynes said.

"We look fast, we feel fast, and we're ready to go."

With a more physical camp than in his previous three years at the helm, Verdugo said everyone is looking sharp, healthy and ready to go. "We came through camp pretty well,"¬ Verdugo said. "We worked them hard and challenged them extremely hard during camp. That's going to help the guys when we get into certain situations, fight through some adversity."

The last time the Tigers faced Highlands was in Verdugo's first season in 2005. It was the last time Fort Hays won a road game; Fort Hays has 0-13 since defeating the Cowboys 21-14.

"We're much improved (from last season),"¬ Verdugo said. "It's been a situation where our defense got a lot better last year, and we've been able to add some talent on the offensive side of the ball that has given us a little more speed and a little more athletic ability that's going to give us more scoring capability."

Last season, Fort Hays finished 2-0 in non-conference play with a victory in the season opener over Western State (Colo.) College at Lewis Field Stadium. In Week 2, the Tigers defeated Colorado School of MInes (next week's opponent) for Fort Hays' first 2-0 start since 2000. The two wins propelled the program into its first 3-0 start in 24 seasons.

"You want to get off to a quick, fast start," Verdugo said. "That gives you a chance to start off 2-0. Once you get into our conference, it's the toughest Division II conference in the nation."