ITHACA, N.Y. -- As stretching ended and strength and conditioning coach Tom Howley's whistle kicked off the 2017 Cornell football season, the skies opened. Rain poured down, almost hail-like in force.

Not one player complained. They know that after the rain is when you see the biggest growth.

So as a new season commenced on Tuesday afternoon on Schoellkopf Field, head coach David Archer's team looked to build on the growth shown over his first four seasons.

A year ago, Archer led the team to three-game improvement, tied for the program's biggest turnaround since 1986. The 2005 Cornell graduate has now developed 23 All-Ivy selections, two Ivy league Rookies of the Year and four FCS All-Americans in his time as head coach.

The crisp, energy-filled afternoon practice session came after a successful morning conditioning test and Monday night's welcome barbecue. Cornell put the Ivy League-maximum 110 uniformed players on the field for the first day of practice, while another dozen will join the Big Red early next week as the school year resumes. All have the same goal - lifting the Big Red to heights it hasn't seen in more than a quarter century.