Ball State University Athletics
Football Team In Midst of Spring Practice
March 17, 2008 | Football
The Ball State University football team, which played in the school's first bowl game in 11 seasons last year, is in the final week of Spring Practice and will compete in the annual Spring Game Saturday at Noon at Scheumann Stadium.
The Cardinals return 15 starters from the 2007 team which managed a 7-6 overall record and played Rutgers in the International Bowl in Toronto, Canada.
"We achieved a lot of the goals we set last season, but that was last season, and we are now in preparation for 2008," Ball State head coach Brady Hoke says. "We have had those expectations since I arrived here, but we put ourselves in better position in 2007. We have great kids in this program, and we want to be sure we put them in the position where they can make this program successful. We expect more. We have a lot of work to do."
Ball State returns nine starters on offense and six on defense plus the nation's third leading punter a year ago in Chris Miller. Miller was named to the American Football Coaches Association All-America First Team in 2007 after ranking third in the nation with a 45.4 average.
Leading the list of offensive returnees is Nate Davis, who quarterbacked the Cardinals' offense to a record-setting season a year ago. Davis threw for a school record 3,667 passing yards, including a Ball State single-season record 30 touchdown passes.
The defense is led by Bryant Haines, who led the Cardinals and ranked 36th in the nation in tackles. He started all 13 games and was a 2007 All-Mid-American Conference Second Team choice.
A complete look at the Ball State 2008 Football Team is attached.
