Ball State University Athletics
Pete Lembo Press Conference Quotes - VMI Week
September 01, 2015 | Football
Opening statement about the team
“It's been a good off-season, a good spring, a good summer and a pretty good preseason. I like this group of players and the chemistry and leadership of the group. We have a lot of veteran guys and familiar faces. They have been joined by a really good group of freshmen; a freshmen class that I think has a lot of potential and maturity to it.”
Comments on VMI
“It is a special opportunity to play against this VMI team. We are looking forward to kicking off the season this Thursday.”
Comments on individual players …
Offensive Linemen Vinnie Palazeti and Nick Plavchak:
“They have been very steady and improved performers. The second part of that is that Steve Bell and Jalen Schlachter have been banged up and missed a lot of practice time. When you have a very minimal difference between the backup and starter, and the backup plays a lot more football in practice over the course of weeks, you owe it to that guy a chance to start the game. That is what has happened with Vinnie and Nick. Both Nick and Vinnie have gone a long way and we treat them like starters. There is a lot of respect for them.”
Running back replacement for Jahwan Edwards:
“We have three replacements for Edwards. Teddy Williamson is a very versatile, very durable running back that has been in our program for three years. He is one of our best leaders. He is everything you want in a student-athlete on and off the field. He brings a lot on the table for us. Darian Green played some as a true freshman last year, but if you watched any of our spring practices or any preseason practice, you probably noticed [number] 25. He's a pretty special young guy and we have high hopes for him. He is a model student-athlete. The other special young man is a freshman by the name of James Gilbert, who was here all spring. He did some fine things in the spring himself. He was a pretty big get for us in the state of Indiana. We expect James to make a meaningful contribution as well.”
Quarterback position:
“First of all, you really want whoever is in the quarterback position to be in control and have a presence about him with those offensive players and the whole team. The quarterback position probably more so than any other is as much about intangibles as it is tangibles. It is really good to see Jack [Milas] assert himself right off the bat when we came back in January. I'm proud of how Jack has grown up. He's learned a lot from the highs and lows.”
