Ball State University Athletics
Football Team Completes Spring Practice
April 12, 2008 | Football
The Ball State University football team completed its 2008 spring practices with the annual Cardinal and White Spring Scrimmage at Scheumann Stadium.
The game was a controlled scrimmage with the Cardinal Team posting a 23-0 win over the White Team.
“Overall there were things good about today,” Ball State head coach Brady Hoke says. “The game was not as clean as I wanted it to be. We wanted to get 90 plays in and we did a little over that. The spring game is beneficial to give guys game time experience especially the redshirts. We were able to get a lot of players in game conditions and that is the biggest benefit of the day.”
Nate Davis, who set the Ball State single-season passing record in 2007 with 3,667 passing yards, completed 15-of-21 passes for 251 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Wade Overton, a senior walk-on for the Cardinals, caught a team-high six passes for 59 yards. Dante Love, who set the Mid-American Conference single-season record with 2,690 all-purpose yards last season, managed four catches for 50 yards with one touchdown. Darius Hill, who is tied for the Ball State career record with 24 touchdown catches, tallied three receptions for 39 yards. Myles Trempe had two catches for 108 yards, and Daniel Ifft added two catches for 34 yards and one touchdown.
"Our offense struggled in the Red Zone and we need to work on our running game," Hoke says. "We missed field goals and that is not good."
"There are a lot of factors that can contribute to the running game today, but I will need to look at the tape to see where the breakdowns occurred. We need to be sure and not evaluate the entire spring on what happened today. We had a lot of players who had a good spring, and we came through it healthy. We will evaluate and get ready for summer camp."
Defensively, Ball State was led by Davyd Jones, who tallied seven tackles and one tackle for loss. Lorren Womack also had seven tackles, while Sam Woodworth and Alex Knipp managed six tackles apiece. Derrick Henry was credited with one fumble recovery, while Spain Cosby tallied an interception and returned it 39 yards.
Ball State's All-American Punter Chris Miller managed two punts for 84 yards (42.0 average) and placed one of the two at the opponent's 10-yard line.
"We always have high expectations within this program and that has not changed," Hoke says. "The team feels better about next season due to the success of last year, but our goal has always been to win the MAC Championship and that has not changed. Going to the International Bowl last season changed the outlook for a lot of people outside of the team, and it gave the team more confidence, but we have a lot of work to do to get better."
Ball State will open the 2008 season Thursday, Aug. 28, with a 7 p.m. contest vs. Northeastern at Ball State's Scheumann Stadium. Following is Ball State's complete 2008 schedule.
Aug. 28 Thurs. NORTHEASTERN (7:00) -- Presented by ProLiance Energy
Sept. 5 Fri. NAVY (ESPN) (7:00)
Sept. 13 Sat. at Akron * TBA
Sept. 20 Sat. at Indiana TBA
Sept. 27 Sat. KENT STATE * TBA -- Homecoming Game Presented by Ball State Federal Credit Union
Oct. 4 Sat. at Toledo * (7:00)
Oct. 11 Sat. at Western Kentucky TBA
Oct. 25 Sat. EASTERN MICHIGAN * TBA -- Family Weekend
Nov. 5 Wed. NORTHERN ILLINOIS * (ESPN2 or ESPNU) (8:00) -- Cardinal Varsity Club Day
Nov. 11 Tues. at Miami University * (ESPN2) (7:00)
Nov. 19 Wed. at Central Michigan * (ESPN2) (7:00)
Nov. 25 Tues. WESTERN MICHIGAN * TBA
All Game Times are ET and Subject to Change
* Denotes Mid-American Conference Games
Home Games in ALL CAPS
