Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Raiders prepare for Marshall with new QB
11/7/2016 4:30:00 PM | Football
Next man up mentality for MT
MURFREESBORO - Middle Tennessee will go into this week's contest at Marshall with a new signal-caller under center.
After redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill went down in the second quarter against UTSA with what turned out to be a broken collarbone, redshirt freshman John Urzua's number was called. He led the Blue Raiders for the rest of the loss and will continue to do so for the remainder of the regular season.
"[Brent] is going to be missed, but John will come in and do a good job," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "Brent had surgery [Sunday] … he'll definitely be out for the remainder of the regular season, and then we'll see how fast he progresses and all that. I don't know about the bowl situation … but he's definitely out for the next three games."
Urzua steps into the starting lineup with some big shoes to fill. Stockstill, Middle Tennessee's all-time leader in touchdown passes (57), was on his way to breaking several of his own school passing records. Through nine games he was completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,801 yards, 27 TDs and just five interceptions.
With their leader out for the remainder of the regular season, Rick Stockstill said players like redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers and redshirt sophomore receiver Richie James will have to be even better than they have been so far this season. Mathers currently leads the conference with 1,181 rushing yards, while James ranks third with 125.8 receiving yards per game.
"John will come in and do a good job, and our other players have to really do a good job of rallying behind him," Rick Stockstill said.
Luckily for Middle's new QB, Urzua will enter the starting lineup this week against one of Conference USA's worst defenses. The Thundering Herd rank 11th out of 13 conference teams in total defense and rank eighth in pass defense (259.3 yards per game for opponents) and 10th in rush defense (207.8 yards per game given up).
"[John] has an extremely strong arm and can make all the throws … the more reps he gets this week in practice against our defense and when he knows the plan going in, he's going to do a tremendous job," Brent Stockstill said. "He'll do everything he can to lead this offense."
The Blue Raider defense can also do a lot to help Urzua and the offense by limiting the time of possession other teams have. In order to achieve that, the group has to be better against the run than it has been in recent weeks. In its last three games, the MT defense has given up an average of 276 yards per game on the ground.
Marshall could prove as the proper medicine for the Blue Raider defense's woes, as the Thundering Herd are averaging a conference-worst 102.9 yards per game on the ground and just 68.6 in conference play.
"This week we have to stop the run and we have to fit things better," junior linebacker DJ Sanders said. "It's like a puzzle, and one piece was missing [against UTSA]. We have to fix that."
While the season has taken a little turn in the wrong direction with Brent Stockstill out for the next three games, Rick Stockstill said he and the coaching staff are making sure their players know the season hasn't been lost.
They are also focusing on making sure the team comes out ready to play against a Marshall team that is better, he said, than its 2-7 record would indicate.
"This team's still got a chance to have a really, really special year," Rick Stockstill said. "There's still a lot out there for this team to play for.
"They're a good football team with a bad record right now. Going up there to play them at their place is very difficult. We have to correct the mistakes we made against San Antonio last week and get better and improve."
Saturday's contest is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. on ASN.
After redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill went down in the second quarter against UTSA with what turned out to be a broken collarbone, redshirt freshman John Urzua's number was called. He led the Blue Raiders for the rest of the loss and will continue to do so for the remainder of the regular season.
"[Brent] is going to be missed, but John will come in and do a good job," MT head coach Rick Stockstill said. "Brent had surgery [Sunday] … he'll definitely be out for the remainder of the regular season, and then we'll see how fast he progresses and all that. I don't know about the bowl situation … but he's definitely out for the next three games."
Urzua steps into the starting lineup with some big shoes to fill. Stockstill, Middle Tennessee's all-time leader in touchdown passes (57), was on his way to breaking several of his own school passing records. Through nine games he was completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 2,801 yards, 27 TDs and just five interceptions.
With their leader out for the remainder of the regular season, Rick Stockstill said players like redshirt senior running back I'Tavius Mathers and redshirt sophomore receiver Richie James will have to be even better than they have been so far this season. Mathers currently leads the conference with 1,181 rushing yards, while James ranks third with 125.8 receiving yards per game.
"John will come in and do a good job, and our other players have to really do a good job of rallying behind him," Rick Stockstill said.
Luckily for Middle's new QB, Urzua will enter the starting lineup this week against one of Conference USA's worst defenses. The Thundering Herd rank 11th out of 13 conference teams in total defense and rank eighth in pass defense (259.3 yards per game for opponents) and 10th in rush defense (207.8 yards per game given up).
"[John] has an extremely strong arm and can make all the throws … the more reps he gets this week in practice against our defense and when he knows the plan going in, he's going to do a tremendous job," Brent Stockstill said. "He'll do everything he can to lead this offense."
The Blue Raider defense can also do a lot to help Urzua and the offense by limiting the time of possession other teams have. In order to achieve that, the group has to be better against the run than it has been in recent weeks. In its last three games, the MT defense has given up an average of 276 yards per game on the ground.
Marshall could prove as the proper medicine for the Blue Raider defense's woes, as the Thundering Herd are averaging a conference-worst 102.9 yards per game on the ground and just 68.6 in conference play.
"This week we have to stop the run and we have to fit things better," junior linebacker DJ Sanders said. "It's like a puzzle, and one piece was missing [against UTSA]. We have to fix that."
While the season has taken a little turn in the wrong direction with Brent Stockstill out for the next three games, Rick Stockstill said he and the coaching staff are making sure their players know the season hasn't been lost.
They are also focusing on making sure the team comes out ready to play against a Marshall team that is better, he said, than its 2-7 record would indicate.
"This team's still got a chance to have a really, really special year," Rick Stockstill said. "There's still a lot out there for this team to play for.
"They're a good football team with a bad record right now. Going up there to play them at their place is very difficult. We have to correct the mistakes we made against San Antonio last week and get better and improve."
Saturday's contest is scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. on ASN.
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