Ball State University Athletics
Football Opener Aug. 30 at Renovated Scheumann Stadium
August 21, 2007 | Football
Q & A with Ball State Head Football Coach Brady Hoke as the football team's season opener approaches. The Cardinals will host Miami University Aug. 30, in a newly renovated Scheumann Stadium.
Question: How has the team progressed through Fall Camp?
Answer: "We feel really good about the quality of student-athletes we have on this team. We have had an excellent fall. We like the mental makeup and the approach these kids have taken to the season."
Question: How has preparation been different since the Cardinals are opening the season with two Mid-American Conference games?
Answer: "Opening with two MAC games has put an added emphasis on the start of the season. Through winter conditioning, through spring practice, through summer, the start of the season has really been framed and the focus has been there. It has helped us get the consistency and the execution. We like playing the two non-conference games later in the season and opening up with the conference contests."
Question: How is the renovated stadium gone from a football team's perspective?
Answer: "Our guys have been on the field since May. We have a good feel for it and the players like it a lot. They are very excited about everything going on with the Stadium, but to be honest, the playing surface is what players are all about. It is a great venue for college football with all the changes, but we just want to focus on what happens on that field."
Question: What is your overall view of the team at this point?
Answer: "We have much more quality depth on this team than we have had in the past. We are coming off some momentum from the 2006 season, and we need to build on that, but this is a different team. We need to be able to run the football. But we will be a football team that can get the ball to the playmakers in a variety of ways. We have the ability to get the ball to our running backs in different ways. Nate Davis has a really good surrounding cast on offense. He is not alone out there. He is only a sophomore, but we have high expectations. We are a better football team than the one that went 5-3 in the MAC last season. Now we need to prove as a team that we are better than that 5-3 team of a year ago. Everyone wants to win the MAC Championship and that will always be the ultimate goal. Now we have to go out and prove what we can do and make all the hard work pay off."
