Ball State University Athletics
#CardinalCamp16 is Underway
August 05, 2016 | Football
MUNCIE, Ind. – Lots of smiles were on the faces of the Ball State football players as the team took to the field for its first preseason practice Thursday afternoon at Scheumann Stadium. Exactly 100 players competed on the turf field in anticipation of the season opener on Sept. 2 at Georgia State.
Below are some news and notes from day one of football camp:
SPECIAL GUEST: Former Cardinal Eugene Riley (1985-89) stopped in for a visit. The two-time all-conference tight end helped the Cardinals win the 1989 Mid-American Conference championship. He went on to play two years in the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts (1990) and Detroit Lions (1991). Riley urged the team to get up every day and strive to do better than the day before. Riley was a mentor for current head coach Mike Neu when he was a young player at Ball State.
MIDSEASON FORM?: Plenty of players already appear to be in midseason form even though it was only the first team practice of 2016. Sophomore QB Riley Neal hit junior WR Jordan Hogue in stride with a deep pass down the middle of the field early on in practice. A little later, sophomore WR Devin Reece made a nifty catch along the left sidelines that drew some hollers from other players. CB Josh Miller, a newcomer to the team in the spring, came up with an interception on a long pass along the perimeter of the field at the end of the team session.
TIRE TUG OF WAR: Towards the end of practice, coach Neu huddled up the team for a competition between the offense and defense. Three newcomers on each side of the ball faced off in a tire tug of war. At stake were fewer sprints at the end of practice. Freshman TE Nolan Givan broke the 1-1 tie with a decisive win in the final tug.
GAME TIME FOR SEASON OPENER ANNOUNCED: A game time has finally been announced for Ball State's season opener at Georgia State. The Sept. 2 game in Atlanta will kick at 7 p.m., and air on the American Sports Network, ESPN3 and WatchESPN.
QUICK TURNAROUND: Practice number two is scheduled for Friday morning at 8 a.m. In fact, the Cardinals will be practicing each of the next five days at 8 a.m.
QUOTING COACH NEU: “I thought there were good plays on both sides of the ball. I thought there were some young guys who made some plays. You want to see that early because you never know how those guys are going to act when they get on the field with a lot of players who are all good.”
For the most up-to-date news on the Ball State football team, please follow @BallStateSports, @BallStateFB and @BSUCoachNeu.
Season tickets as well as single game tickets are now on sale. Fans can visit BallStateSports.com (click here), call 888-BSU-TICKET or visit the Stoops Buick/GMC Ticket Center inside Worthen Arena to purchase tickets.
