Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Weekly press conference ushers in first game-week
8/29/2016 4:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO - The wait is finally coming to a close for Middle Tennessee football fans as Alabama A&M comes to Floyd Stadium on Saturday.
To kick off the first game week of the season, head coach Rick Stockstill, redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill and junior linebacker DJ Sanders met with the media at the year's first weekly football press conference on Monday.
"I'm pleased with our team and their work ethic and the progress they've made over the course of the last eight months going back to January through our offseason conditioning and through spring practice and summer and now the conclusion of camp through August," Rick Stockstill said. "This is a close-knit team that truly cares about one another and truly cares about playing hard for one another."
As the Blue Raiders prepare for Week 1, they will have to game plan without knowing a whole lot about what Alabama A&M will do with a new defensive coordinator and diverse offense.
"We don't know a whole lot about them," Rick Stockstill said. "I know they have a couple of new coaches on defense, and anytime you have an opening game there's always that unknown. Now, with a couple of new coaches and a new defensive coordinator on that side, the unknown variables become a little bit more."
Travis Pearson joined the Alabama A&M coaching staff as defensive coordinator this offseason after being previously at South Alabama. According to Rick Stockstill, Pearson's teams at South Alabama were known for playing a three-man front, while Alabama A&M last year was primarily a four-man front.
Offensively, the Bulldogs run a spread offense that is made very diverse by senior quarterback De'Angelo "Tuttie" Ballard's ability to both run and throw the football. That will make the Blue Raiders' discipline a very important factor in controlling the Alabama A&M offensive attack.
"I haven't really watched much film on him, so I don't know much about him," Sanders said. "But I know he's a scrambling quarterback and anytime you have a scrambling quarterback you have to contain him. If he gets outside of the pocket you have to make him pay."
Alabama A&M may have finished last season just 3-8, but that doesn't mean Middle Tennessee is aiming to take them lightly.
"Their record wasn't all so hot last year, but that doesn't mean anything," Rick Stockstill said. "That was last year. Every team and every season is a new start to the season with a different team and a new team. I told our team yesterday it's about us, it's about controlling what we can control and not worrying about what Alabama A&M does."
One thing the Blue Raiders can't control is injury. As they take the field Saturday they will do so with some new faces in the starting lineup, most notably in the receiving corps.
Injuries to wideouts Terry Pettis, Shane Tucker and Jocquez Bruce have opened up opportunities for redshirt junior Patrick Smith and true freshman Ty Lee to make their first collegiate starts.
"We've had some unfortunate injuries throughout camp to some key guys that we're not going to have, but that's part of the adversity that you face every year," Rick Stockstill said. "The guys that are replacing them are getting an opportunity to step up and contribute to this football team, and I think they will."
Since Middle Tennessee last took the field in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve in 2015, the players and coaches have been counting down the days until the action starts again.
Now their wait is finally almost over.
"I got butterflies waking up and even thinking about it today," Brent Stockstill said. "We have a sign in our locker room that says countdown to kickoff and that thing's been going since we played in the Bahamas Bowl. You look at it and it says 320 days and now you look up and it says five. It's exciting and we're all looking forward to it."
- Kickoff: 6 PM
- Tickets: GoBlueRaiders.com/tickets
- How to Watch: CUSA.tv/RaiderVision
- How to Listen: 97.5/102.5 The Game, 89.5 FM, 1450 AM, 100.5 FM and 101.9 FM – locally. Also, GoBlueRaiders.com, MT Gameday App or the TuneIn radio app
To kick off the first game week of the season, head coach Rick Stockstill, redshirt sophomore quarterback Brent Stockstill and junior linebacker DJ Sanders met with the media at the year's first weekly football press conference on Monday.
"I'm pleased with our team and their work ethic and the progress they've made over the course of the last eight months going back to January through our offseason conditioning and through spring practice and summer and now the conclusion of camp through August," Rick Stockstill said. "This is a close-knit team that truly cares about one another and truly cares about playing hard for one another."
As the Blue Raiders prepare for Week 1, they will have to game plan without knowing a whole lot about what Alabama A&M will do with a new defensive coordinator and diverse offense.
"We don't know a whole lot about them," Rick Stockstill said. "I know they have a couple of new coaches on defense, and anytime you have an opening game there's always that unknown. Now, with a couple of new coaches and a new defensive coordinator on that side, the unknown variables become a little bit more."
Travis Pearson joined the Alabama A&M coaching staff as defensive coordinator this offseason after being previously at South Alabama. According to Rick Stockstill, Pearson's teams at South Alabama were known for playing a three-man front, while Alabama A&M last year was primarily a four-man front.
Offensively, the Bulldogs run a spread offense that is made very diverse by senior quarterback De'Angelo "Tuttie" Ballard's ability to both run and throw the football. That will make the Blue Raiders' discipline a very important factor in controlling the Alabama A&M offensive attack.
"I haven't really watched much film on him, so I don't know much about him," Sanders said. "But I know he's a scrambling quarterback and anytime you have a scrambling quarterback you have to contain him. If he gets outside of the pocket you have to make him pay."
Alabama A&M may have finished last season just 3-8, but that doesn't mean Middle Tennessee is aiming to take them lightly.
"Their record wasn't all so hot last year, but that doesn't mean anything," Rick Stockstill said. "That was last year. Every team and every season is a new start to the season with a different team and a new team. I told our team yesterday it's about us, it's about controlling what we can control and not worrying about what Alabama A&M does."
One thing the Blue Raiders can't control is injury. As they take the field Saturday they will do so with some new faces in the starting lineup, most notably in the receiving corps.
Injuries to wideouts Terry Pettis, Shane Tucker and Jocquez Bruce have opened up opportunities for redshirt junior Patrick Smith and true freshman Ty Lee to make their first collegiate starts.
"We've had some unfortunate injuries throughout camp to some key guys that we're not going to have, but that's part of the adversity that you face every year," Rick Stockstill said. "The guys that are replacing them are getting an opportunity to step up and contribute to this football team, and I think they will."
Since Middle Tennessee last took the field in the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl on Christmas Eve in 2015, the players and coaches have been counting down the days until the action starts again.
Now their wait is finally almost over.
"I got butterflies waking up and even thinking about it today," Brent Stockstill said. "We have a sign in our locker room that says countdown to kickoff and that thing's been going since we played in the Bahamas Bowl. You look at it and it says 320 days and now you look up and it says five. It's exciting and we're all looking forward to it."
Players Mentioned
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