Ball State Football Weekly News Conference Quotes, September 2: Game 1 vs. Missouri State
Coach Neu
Q: "What went into the decision to start a lot of these guys [on defense] who may not have that starting experience?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "That process goes way back to when we started in January, when Coach Knowles arrived here as our defensive coordinator. I would say there'll be a point in time where some of the guys, whether it's the guys up front, some of those guys will rotate, especially early in the season. And you know, it's always a starting point that way. But you go by what you see on the practice field."
Q: "Does it make you even more confident given the fact that a lot of these new starters have power five experience or top-25 program experience." — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I think that's important. Some of the guys in some of these spots, they played college football, so they understand what the speed of the game is. That's one of the biggest adjustments you have when you take a high school player and you bring them to college. No matter how much you try to prepare them, it's still shocking the first time you get out there."
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Q: "What do you see when looking at Missouri State?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "This is a good football team. I watched the game [against Montana], and boy, they put themselves in a position to win. When I look at them on tape, I'm like, 'Alright, we're preparing for another MAC team here.' It's going to be a dog fight. Their personnel is really good."
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Q: "You got a week of film on them, but they don't have any film on you guys. You think that's an advantage?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "For us, they played a game — we haven't. We had to watch all weekend, which was tough, but we've continued to grind and make sure we took an extra week and then some to prepare for Missouri State. Obviously, the head coach returns, and the former defensive coordinator, so we felt very confident that both their defensive scheme and their offensive scheme would be somewhat compatible to what we've seen on tape a year ago. So we studied like crazy to prepare."
Â
Q: "It's the first time since 2021 opening up the season at home. Do you think there's a different feeling for players opening up at home?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "First and foremost, what would be awesome is to have a great crowd here. Our guys feed off that. Obviously, we would love to have a strong showing, especially from the students. Our players need them. Our university needs them. Our program needs them. Our guys obviously relish the opportunity to play here at home and in Scheumann Stadium. When the stadium's full and the students are here, it's an awesome environment."
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Q: "It's the 100th season of Ball State football. Is that something you guys have been thinking about going into this season?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "We identified that back when the journey started here. We got here at night number one from training camp. You certainly want guys to know that maybe have not been a part of our program that this is the 100th year of Ball State football. There's only going to be one team 100, so let's take advantage of that."
Q: "You've got one of the more experienced offensive lines in college football. Could you kind of talk about how you've seen them, especially helping out the relative inexperience you've got at the quarterback position?" — Cade Hampton, The Star Press
A: "That's exciting — anytime you can say that you have an offensive line that returns 117 starts. You can't just go find that at the portal. They've seen every twist, every game, every stunt, every pressure, you name it. They've played through pain. They've played through injury. They played in some grueling conditions. We're so excited about that."Â
A: "First. First, not just in the MAC; we're gonna be the best defense in the nation. Regardless of who we plan for, we just want to dominate. Everybody has to do their 1/11th. We don't need heroes. We don't need anybody trying to do something out of the ordinary. Do your 1/11th, then all the plays are gonna fall to you."
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Q: "Is there a competitive switch that gets flipped on knowing it's game week?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "I wouldn't necessarily say that, because with football, you prepare for the season all year round, and we talk about it a lot like with the time that you have here. If you're flipping the switch on game weekend, you're wrong because you've been doing this the whole year. For you just to flip the switch when the season starts, it's just kind of like a slap in the face to everybody that's been working the whole year."
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Q: "You haven't even entered [the transfer portal]. Why is that? What has kept you here?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "For me, I had the opportunity to do what I'm doing now, and to lead a group of guys that I feel like can do something special this year. Why would I go, at the end of my college tenure, somewhere else — bigger or smaller — and try to basically start all the way over?"
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Q: "Do you think those new guys have bought in pretty well to the culture around here?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "Most definitely. It was quick because it's easy to do that when you treat it like a brother. It's not like 'I don't know if they like me, this, that, and the third.' You come in, you're a family."
Q: "How do you feel like you guys have come together with now just six days before your first game?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I feel like we're starting to get closer as a unit, like starting to form more of a tighter brotherhood than we have. With the back seven, we're trying to get more film with these guys. I feel like we're starting to play better with each other, and communication is getting a lot better."Â
A: "Not old, it's just an honor. I understand that there's so many kids out there that are either injured, or they didn't get the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I'm so blessed. God gave me this opportunity to play — to be a starter — and be a part of this program as I am."
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Q: "How confident are you with Jared [Elliott] now being the OC?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I trust that man more than anyone. He's just lit a fire within this offense that we haven't had because it's just something about him that just lives and breathes football. The passion for truly what the game is, what the game means, and what football the game itself cares about is bleeding through our offense."
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Q: "[Ty Robinson and Justin Bowick] are both tight end size. They're tall enough to play the position. How big is that for this offense?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "We got a quarterback that can put the ball where he wants to put it, and when you have guys that can go and get the ball like that, it's going to cause stress on defenses. There are mismatches all across the board."
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Q: "What's your chemistry like with Kadin [Semonza]?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "Kadin's gonna be a great quarterback in this conference. He's got his head on so right. He's wired the right way. Coach Elliott just said that a couple times, but he truly is. Since he got here, he's been wired the right way."
Â
Q: "With it being Ball State's 100th season, does that add anything onto playing this year?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "There's been 99 teams before us that have played, and we know they're watching. There's a sense of just wanting to do it for those guys. We want them to have the bragging rights and then to be proud of the team that it's putting out there today. There's a sense of pride in that and the people that have worn the jersey before us."
Coach Neu
Q: "What went into the decision to start a lot of these guys [on defense] who may not have that starting experience?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "That process goes way back to when we started in January, when Coach Knowles arrived here as our defensive coordinator. I would say there'll be a point in time where some of the guys, whether it's the guys up front, some of those guys will rotate, especially early in the season. And you know, it's always a starting point that way. But you go by what you see on the practice field."
Q: "Does it make you even more confident given the fact that a lot of these new starters have power five experience or top-25 program experience." — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I think that's important. Some of the guys in some of these spots, they played college football, so they understand what the speed of the game is. That's one of the biggest adjustments you have when you take a high school player and you bring them to college. No matter how much you try to prepare them, it's still shocking the first time you get out there."
Â
Q: "What do you see when looking at Missouri State?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "This is a good football team. I watched the game [against Montana], and boy, they put themselves in a position to win. When I look at them on tape, I'm like, 'Alright, we're preparing for another MAC team here.' It's going to be a dog fight. Their personnel is really good."
Â
Q: "You got a week of film on them, but they don't have any film on you guys. You think that's an advantage?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "For us, they played a game — we haven't. We had to watch all weekend, which was tough, but we've continued to grind and make sure we took an extra week and then some to prepare for Missouri State. Obviously, the head coach returns, and the former defensive coordinator, so we felt very confident that both their defensive scheme and their offensive scheme would be somewhat compatible to what we've seen on tape a year ago. So we studied like crazy to prepare."
Â
Q: "It's the first time since 2021 opening up the season at home. Do you think there's a different feeling for players opening up at home?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "First and foremost, what would be awesome is to have a great crowd here. Our guys feed off that. Obviously, we would love to have a strong showing, especially from the students. Our players need them. Our university needs them. Our program needs them. Our guys obviously relish the opportunity to play here at home and in Scheumann Stadium. When the stadium's full and the students are here, it's an awesome environment."
Â
Q: "It's the 100th season of Ball State football. Is that something you guys have been thinking about going into this season?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "We identified that back when the journey started here. We got here at night number one from training camp. You certainly want guys to know that maybe have not been a part of our program that this is the 100th year of Ball State football. There's only going to be one team 100, so let's take advantage of that."
Q: "You've got one of the more experienced offensive lines in college football. Could you kind of talk about how you've seen them, especially helping out the relative inexperience you've got at the quarterback position?" — Cade Hampton, The Star Press
A: "That's exciting — anytime you can say that you have an offensive line that returns 117 starts. You can't just go find that at the portal. They've seen every twist, every game, every stunt, every pressure, you name it. They've played through pain. They've played through injury. They played in some grueling conditions. We're so excited about that."Â
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Keionte Newson
A: "First. First, not just in the MAC; we're gonna be the best defense in the nation. Regardless of who we plan for, we just want to dominate. Everybody has to do their 1/11th. We don't need heroes. We don't need anybody trying to do something out of the ordinary. Do your 1/11th, then all the plays are gonna fall to you."
Â
Q: "Is there a competitive switch that gets flipped on knowing it's game week?" — Elijah Poe, Ball State Daily News
A: "I wouldn't necessarily say that, because with football, you prepare for the season all year round, and we talk about it a lot like with the time that you have here. If you're flipping the switch on game weekend, you're wrong because you've been doing this the whole year. For you just to flip the switch when the season starts, it's just kind of like a slap in the face to everybody that's been working the whole year."
Â
Q: "You haven't even entered [the transfer portal]. Why is that? What has kept you here?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "For me, I had the opportunity to do what I'm doing now, and to lead a group of guys that I feel like can do something special this year. Why would I go, at the end of my college tenure, somewhere else — bigger or smaller — and try to basically start all the way over?"
Â
Q: "Do you think those new guys have bought in pretty well to the culture around here?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "Most definitely. It was quick because it's easy to do that when you treat it like a brother. It's not like 'I don't know if they like me, this, that, and the third.' You come in, you're a family."
Q: "How do you feel like you guys have come together with now just six days before your first game?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I feel like we're starting to get closer as a unit, like starting to form more of a tighter brotherhood than we have. With the back seven, we're trying to get more film with these guys. I feel like we're starting to play better with each other, and communication is getting a lot better."Â
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Tanner Koziol
A: "Not old, it's just an honor. I understand that there's so many kids out there that are either injured, or they didn't get the opportunity to do what I'm doing. I'm so blessed. God gave me this opportunity to play — to be a starter — and be a part of this program as I am."
Â
Q: "How confident are you with Jared [Elliott] now being the OC?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "I trust that man more than anyone. He's just lit a fire within this offense that we haven't had because it's just something about him that just lives and breathes football. The passion for truly what the game is, what the game means, and what football the game itself cares about is bleeding through our offense."
Â
Q: "[Ty Robinson and Justin Bowick] are both tight end size. They're tall enough to play the position. How big is that for this offense?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "We got a quarterback that can put the ball where he wants to put it, and when you have guys that can go and get the ball like that, it's going to cause stress on defenses. There are mismatches all across the board."
Â
Q: "What's your chemistry like with Kadin [Semonza]?" — Kyle Smedley, Ball State Daily News
A: "Kadin's gonna be a great quarterback in this conference. He's got his head on so right. He's wired the right way. Coach Elliott just said that a couple times, but he truly is. Since he got here, he's been wired the right way."
Â
Q: "With it being Ball State's 100th season, does that add anything onto playing this year?" — Zach Carter, Ball State Daily News
A: "There's been 99 teams before us that have played, and we know they're watching. There's a sense of just wanting to do it for those guys. We want them to have the bragging rights and then to be proud of the team that it's putting out there today. There's a sense of pride in that and the people that have worn the jersey before us."