Ball State Football Weekly News Conference Quotes, November 18: Game 11
Interim Head Coach Colin Johnson
Opening statement: “Obviously, I'm honored. It's never easy in this profession to deal with change. But, as a young coach, when I got into this business, I was exposed to it early, and you learn that this is what you get into. I want to give unbelievable gratitude to Mike Neu and what he has provided for myself and my family. I grew up idolizing the guy being a Ball State athlete myself over in the old facility at Worthen, seeing his picture up on the wall and hearing about his stories as a champion. I've always looked up to him.”
“Everything I've learned from him and the opportunities I've been given are because of him, so I wish him well, but the opportunity that I have here is unbelievable. I thank Jeff Mitchell for trusting this program and the leadership to me: it’s something I will not take for granted. Like I mentioned, being a Ball State alum and a former football athlete, this place means a lot to me, and I want, just like any one of our Ball State fans, to see it have great success, long lasting success, and that's what this program deserves. So, I'm going to do everything in my power here over the course of the next two weeks, starting with this week, to see to it that this program stays on track and has success here.”
Q: “What is it that made you feel confident [to lead]?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “It’s years being a part of it. You're never really prepared for your first head coaching job. I can't imagine if I went back to some of my roots is in the Division III world, and if I was to take a first head coaching job at the Division III level. How are you ever truly ready? You're getting ready to take young men who are so impressionable, starting their careers in perhaps what is one of the most important times in their lives because they're trying to figure it out on their own, away from their family and where they're from. It's a big responsibility to lead, but every level I've ever been at, I've been looked at as a leader. I don't shy away from that. High school football, I was a team captain, certainly here at Ball State, I was one of our team captains. I was on the leadership council. I've had to lead at every step, everywhere I've been, and certainly when you're the offensive line coach, it's a big leadership position. You're coaching the largest unit on the field. So, it's something I feel like I've always been prepared to do.”
Q: “What has the atmosphere surrounding players been?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “I've talked to the team, and I've talked to the leadership council, and I get the sense that I have 100% support, and I've always related to these guys, that ‘you are me, I am you.’ Everything you guys go through every single day on this campus: I've gone through it. I've sat in the same seats, put on the same jersey. So to me, I don't take it lightly that I'm here. I'm here for a reason. I'm here to relate to these guys. I'm here to lead these guys. And you know, over the years, I've never shied away from telling them that. The way I interact with them, I try not to interact with them as someone who's standing over them. I'm right here in the fight with you, man, and that's the way I learned.”
Q: “What is your plan to make sure that these guys know that there is still something to play for?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “It starts with this Saturday, Senior Day. Anyone who straps on the pads and put on the jersey knows the goal is to win, but Senior Day is special because it's a culmination for all the work that the seniors in your program have put together. My goal is to see to it that they go out on the highest note possible, right? And that starts with getting a win here this Saturday, on Senior Day. Do everything we can for those seniors. It's a message that I preach to the offensive line all year long, every game, every opportunity we get to step on the field, you do it for your seniors, because they've laid the foundation for every player within the program that comes before them. So, the least we can do is lay it all on the line for them. That's my number one motivation.”
Q: “Being at Ball State, what does this mean for you and for the university as a whole?” – Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: “Let me take a step back when I was getting ready to leave high school… At the time, I had no idea where Ball State was, but through that recruiting process, not only did I fall in love with the coaches, I fell in love with this place. One of the highlights of my life was sitting in that exit interview with Coach Lynch and him telling me that I had a scholarship opportunity to come to Ball State, and I committed on the spot. That's how strongly I felt from what I experienced in that short period of time, and certainly when I got here as a player. We all know this campus. We love this campus. It's such a tight knit community for a school of 19,000 people. I met all my best friends on this campus. I met my wife on this campus. Her mother, my mother-in-law, graduated from Ball State. So, this place means so much more to me than someone who sees it as a job opportunity. I'm ingrained in this place. I would do anything and everything for this place.”
Interim Head Coach Colin Johnson
Opening statement: “Obviously, I'm honored. It's never easy in this profession to deal with change. But, as a young coach, when I got into this business, I was exposed to it early, and you learn that this is what you get into. I want to give unbelievable gratitude to Mike Neu and what he has provided for myself and my family. I grew up idolizing the guy being a Ball State athlete myself over in the old facility at Worthen, seeing his picture up on the wall and hearing about his stories as a champion. I've always looked up to him.”
“Everything I've learned from him and the opportunities I've been given are because of him, so I wish him well, but the opportunity that I have here is unbelievable. I thank Jeff Mitchell for trusting this program and the leadership to me: it’s something I will not take for granted. Like I mentioned, being a Ball State alum and a former football athlete, this place means a lot to me, and I want, just like any one of our Ball State fans, to see it have great success, long lasting success, and that's what this program deserves. So, I'm going to do everything in my power here over the course of the next two weeks, starting with this week, to see to it that this program stays on track and has success here.”
Q: “What is it that made you feel confident [to lead]?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “It’s years being a part of it. You're never really prepared for your first head coaching job. I can't imagine if I went back to some of my roots is in the Division III world, and if I was to take a first head coaching job at the Division III level. How are you ever truly ready? You're getting ready to take young men who are so impressionable, starting their careers in perhaps what is one of the most important times in their lives because they're trying to figure it out on their own, away from their family and where they're from. It's a big responsibility to lead, but every level I've ever been at, I've been looked at as a leader. I don't shy away from that. High school football, I was a team captain, certainly here at Ball State, I was one of our team captains. I was on the leadership council. I've had to lead at every step, everywhere I've been, and certainly when you're the offensive line coach, it's a big leadership position. You're coaching the largest unit on the field. So, it's something I feel like I've always been prepared to do.”
Q: “What has the atmosphere surrounding players been?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “I've talked to the team, and I've talked to the leadership council, and I get the sense that I have 100% support, and I've always related to these guys, that ‘you are me, I am you.’ Everything you guys go through every single day on this campus: I've gone through it. I've sat in the same seats, put on the same jersey. So to me, I don't take it lightly that I'm here. I'm here for a reason. I'm here to relate to these guys. I'm here to lead these guys. And you know, over the years, I've never shied away from telling them that. The way I interact with them, I try not to interact with them as someone who's standing over them. I'm right here in the fight with you, man, and that's the way I learned.”
Q: “What is your plan to make sure that these guys know that there is still something to play for?” – Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: “It starts with this Saturday, Senior Day. Anyone who straps on the pads and put on the jersey knows the goal is to win, but Senior Day is special because it's a culmination for all the work that the seniors in your program have put together. My goal is to see to it that they go out on the highest note possible, right? And that starts with getting a win here this Saturday, on Senior Day. Do everything we can for those seniors. It's a message that I preach to the offensive line all year long, every game, every opportunity we get to step on the field, you do it for your seniors, because they've laid the foundation for every player within the program that comes before them. So, the least we can do is lay it all on the line for them. That's my number one motivation.”
Q: “Being at Ball State, what does this mean for you and for the university as a whole?” – Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: “Let me take a step back when I was getting ready to leave high school… At the time, I had no idea where Ball State was, but through that recruiting process, not only did I fall in love with the coaches, I fell in love with this place. One of the highlights of my life was sitting in that exit interview with Coach Lynch and him telling me that I had a scholarship opportunity to come to Ball State, and I committed on the spot. That's how strongly I felt from what I experienced in that short period of time, and certainly when I got here as a player. We all know this campus. We love this campus. It's such a tight knit community for a school of 19,000 people. I met all my best friends on this campus. I met my wife on this campus. Her mother, my mother-in-law, graduated from Ball State. So, this place means so much more to me than someone who sees it as a job opportunity. I'm ingrained in this place. I would do anything and everything for this place.”