Ball State Football Weekly News Conference Quotes, September 29: Game 5 versus Ohio
Coach Uremovich
Opening Statement: "It's a great challenge this week, playing the defending [Mid-American Conference] champions. [Ohio] is at where we are trying to get to as a program. They consistently win. Offensively, coach Isphording does a great job with their offense. Year after year, they have an All-MAC-caliber quarterback playing, so obviously, they are recruiting the right guys and developing them. Their tailback is one of the best in the conference, having over 200 yards after contact, so we've got to get to him and get him down. Defensively, John Hauser has done a great job. He's got two young guys that can really run in there. One of them returned an interception for a touchdown last week. Their defensive line is active, twisting and moving a bunch. They are the defending MAC champions for a reason, and we're excited for them to come here and have a chance to compete against them at home."
Q: "What have you learned about this team after the first four games?"
A: "We'll continue to learn about this team as the season goes on, but we learned that they are going to compete. They're going to play to the very end, which is how it should be. These guys are going to play hard for us, and we've really gotten better as the weeks have gone on."
Q: "How do you feel about the opportunity to make a statement against the defending MAC champions?"
A: "It's great to be able to play them first. It's great to be at home as well, coming off a bye week. Now that we've gotten to MAC play, it really is a one-week season. MAC football is always competitive, always comes down to the fourth quarter, always tight games, so the chance to start off at home is a good opportunity for us."
Q: "How important was it to have a bye week right before the start of conference season?"
A: "If I could make the schedule, I would do that every year. Whether it's your first or fifth year, you always want to play those first four games, get a bye to regroup, and then go attack the MAC. It worked out perfectly for us this year."
Q: "What were you focusing on during that bye week?"
A: "The bye week gives you a chance to work with the developmental guys, so those guys got two practices where they got to go out there and run our offensive and defensive schemes and do some special teams drills. That's what is important for us this year, because if we have some injuries, those guys who don't travel are going to play. There's a lot of football left in the season. For those guys to develop and get coached was good, and some of those guys did some really nice things in those practices."
Q: "What's it like as a coach, knowing that every conference game is going to be a dogfight?"
A: "It's great. It's all you want as a coach. You want to be able to play a worthy adversary. Somebody who is really well coached and has good players so you can go out and compete to try to execute and out discipline them."
Qian Magwood
Q: "How have you seen the offense evolve from week one to now?"
A: "Our maturity level has gotten better. We're not making the same mistake twice, and we learn from them."
Q: "How much of an opportunity is it for you guys to play the defending MAC champions at home?"
A: "It's always big to get a win at home. With them being the MAC champions, it's a little bit bigger. It's definitely a good boost for the team."Â
Q: "With this being your final MAC season, what are your emotions like going into this first game?"
A: "I'm a pretty passionate guy, and it means a little bit more. It's going to be good, especially to kick off MAC play at home."
Q: "What has the conference meant to you over the years?"
A: "It's a competitive conference. That's what it really means to me. Every week you have a chance to compete against a good opponent."
Q: "What was it like to throw that touchdown pass at Connecticut?"
A: "It was cool. [Kiael Kelly] really made the play though, because I kind of underthrew it, but it was definitely cool."
Kiael Kelly
Q: "What has been the main focus for you guys, coming out of the bye week and getting ready to open MAC play?"
A: "We've been preparing and getting healthy. We're getting ready because we know these last eight games are going to be tough."
Q: "What was the greatest aspect of growth for you at the quarterback position in those four non-conference games?"
A: "I feel like I grew in my decision making. At times two years ago, I was a little unsure, but now I'm able to go out there and play with confidence and feel like myself."
Q: "Do you feel hosting the defending MAC champions as your first conference game creates an opportunity to make a statement?"
A: "I see it as a MAC championship game. We want to be there, and this is one of the teams that we might see there. This is a preview of what we want as a team, and a chance to showcase what we've been working toward."
Q: "What are you emotions like going into your last MAC opener?"
A: "[The team] has just been taking it one game at a time. Now that the season is here, I try not to think about the last time for things, but the time has gone by fast. Playing in this conference is fun, and this conference has been loyal to me."
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Coach Uremovich
Opening Statement: "It's a great challenge this week, playing the defending [Mid-American Conference] champions. [Ohio] is at where we are trying to get to as a program. They consistently win. Offensively, coach Isphording does a great job with their offense. Year after year, they have an All-MAC-caliber quarterback playing, so obviously, they are recruiting the right guys and developing them. Their tailback is one of the best in the conference, having over 200 yards after contact, so we've got to get to him and get him down. Defensively, John Hauser has done a great job. He's got two young guys that can really run in there. One of them returned an interception for a touchdown last week. Their defensive line is active, twisting and moving a bunch. They are the defending MAC champions for a reason, and we're excited for them to come here and have a chance to compete against them at home."
Q: "What have you learned about this team after the first four games?"
A: "We'll continue to learn about this team as the season goes on, but we learned that they are going to compete. They're going to play to the very end, which is how it should be. These guys are going to play hard for us, and we've really gotten better as the weeks have gone on."
Q: "How do you feel about the opportunity to make a statement against the defending MAC champions?"
A: "It's great to be able to play them first. It's great to be at home as well, coming off a bye week. Now that we've gotten to MAC play, it really is a one-week season. MAC football is always competitive, always comes down to the fourth quarter, always tight games, so the chance to start off at home is a good opportunity for us."
Q: "How important was it to have a bye week right before the start of conference season?"
A: "If I could make the schedule, I would do that every year. Whether it's your first or fifth year, you always want to play those first four games, get a bye to regroup, and then go attack the MAC. It worked out perfectly for us this year."
Q: "What were you focusing on during that bye week?"
A: "The bye week gives you a chance to work with the developmental guys, so those guys got two practices where they got to go out there and run our offensive and defensive schemes and do some special teams drills. That's what is important for us this year, because if we have some injuries, those guys who don't travel are going to play. There's a lot of football left in the season. For those guys to develop and get coached was good, and some of those guys did some really nice things in those practices."
Q: "What's it like as a coach, knowing that every conference game is going to be a dogfight?"
A: "It's great. It's all you want as a coach. You want to be able to play a worthy adversary. Somebody who is really well coached and has good players so you can go out and compete to try to execute and out discipline them."
Qian Magwood
Q: "How have you seen the offense evolve from week one to now?"
A: "Our maturity level has gotten better. We're not making the same mistake twice, and we learn from them."
Q: "How much of an opportunity is it for you guys to play the defending MAC champions at home?"
A: "It's always big to get a win at home. With them being the MAC champions, it's a little bit bigger. It's definitely a good boost for the team."Â
Q: "With this being your final MAC season, what are your emotions like going into this first game?"
A: "I'm a pretty passionate guy, and it means a little bit more. It's going to be good, especially to kick off MAC play at home."
Q: "What has the conference meant to you over the years?"
A: "It's a competitive conference. That's what it really means to me. Every week you have a chance to compete against a good opponent."
Q: "What was it like to throw that touchdown pass at Connecticut?"
A: "It was cool. [Kiael Kelly] really made the play though, because I kind of underthrew it, but it was definitely cool."
Kiael Kelly
Q: "What has been the main focus for you guys, coming out of the bye week and getting ready to open MAC play?"
A: "We've been preparing and getting healthy. We're getting ready because we know these last eight games are going to be tough."
Q: "What was the greatest aspect of growth for you at the quarterback position in those four non-conference games?"
A: "I feel like I grew in my decision making. At times two years ago, I was a little unsure, but now I'm able to go out there and play with confidence and feel like myself."
Q: "Do you feel hosting the defending MAC champions as your first conference game creates an opportunity to make a statement?"
A: "I see it as a MAC championship game. We want to be there, and this is one of the teams that we might see there. This is a preview of what we want as a team, and a chance to showcase what we've been working toward."
Q: "What are you emotions like going into your last MAC opener?"
A: "[The team] has just been taking it one game at a time. Now that the season is here, I try not to think about the last time for things, but the time has gone by fast. Playing in this conference is fun, and this conference has been loyal to me."
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