Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
Excitement shows at first football press conference
8/1/2018 4:30:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee held its season-opening press conference Wednesday in the Rose and Emmett Kennon Sports Hall of Fame, and the most popular word of the day was "excited."
From head coach Rick Stockstill and offensive and defensive coordinators Tony Franklin and Scott Shafer to players Brent Stockstill, Chandler Brewer, Malik Manciel and Darius Harris, each gave answers centered around being excited to get to work.
The players officially report back Thursday, with the first practice of 2018 fall camp scheduled for Friday at 9:35 a.m. Fans will be allowed to watch the first 20 minutes of the first three practices, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The rest of fall camp will be closed to the public.
"Every coach in America probably today or that's getting ready to get started is going to tell you how excited they are, and we are," Coach Stockstill said. "This has been a really, really good offseason for us."
Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer is entering his second fall camp with the Blue Raiders. The former Syracuse head coach was instrumental in taking MT's defense from the 96th-ranked unit in the country in total defense in 2016 to 35th in 2017.
Shafer said this spring and summer were different from last year in that he didn't have to deal with as much of a language barrier on the field.
He's excited to see what his defense can do in this year's camp with another year of familiarity in the system.
"The second year at all the places I've been has always been, when I've looked back, my favorite years," Shafer said. "In year one, the language barrier, no matter how hard you try … those kids will revert back to what they called something in the past, and some of the coaches, as well. That language barrier is probably the biggest thing."
While the defense was successful in 2017, it had issues forcing turnovers, coming up with just 11 on the season.
Forcing more turnovers in 2018 will start with consistent pressure from a defensive line that returns eight players that made at least one start last season.
"We do feel like a complete group," redshirt junior defensive tackle Malik Manciel said. "We want to affect the quarterback more so we can put him in pressure situations so he'll throw a pick. We're really just working on our pass rush."
A strong defensive line could also make a transition in the linebacking corps easier to handle.
Linebacker D.J. Sanders played 51 career games (tied for third all-time at MT) in the middle linebacker spot the past four seasons, but with him gone, a new name will have to step in and quarterback the defense.
"It was tough for us to lose D.J.," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "As leaders, with me and Khalil (Brooks) being some older guys on the team and in the linebacker room, we just want to get the young linebackers up to speed so they know what to do. We want to all be on the same page so we can play fast and make plays."
On the other side of the ball, Tony Franklin is entering his third season as offensive coordinator.
This fall, his main objective may be to find a backup quarterback for redshirt senior Brent Stockstill, who missed nine games combined the past two seasons due to injuries.
"We don't have a backup right now, we have five," Franklin said. "They'll be competing every day in every single thing that they do.
"These kids can play, and if they have to play, they'll be ready to play. I think everyone will be excited when they get to see them play."
Whichever quarterback wins the backup role may be the leader to take over the starting job next year with Brent Stockstill entering his final fall camp Friday.
The Murfreesboro native is the school's all-time leader in almost every passing category, and he's ready for what will undoubtedly be a bittersweet season.
"The summer was really good … and this is one of the closest teams I've been a part of my whole life," he said. "I've tried to put on that leadership cap with the young guys to try and leave this place in a good spot when I'm gone and leave a lasting impact on those guys."
If it's going to be a successful year for Brent Stockstill and the offense, they'll have to get consistent play from the offensive line.
Franklin said the offensive line may have been the group with the best offseason, and most notably seniors Chandler Brewer and Carlos Johnson looked to take a next step.
"It's always great when you get a bunch of guys back," Brewer said. "The energy between everybody and the experience helps a lot. We're looking forward to seeing our young guys step up and try to beat one of us out. We're always looking for competition. That's the only way we're going to get better as a team."
A lot of work is left to be done before the Blue Raiders travel to Vanderbilt on Sept. 1 for the season opener. Nonetheless, Coach Stockstill and his team are excited to get started on what they hope is a successful 2018 campaign.
"I'm really excited; I like our team and I like where we're at right now," he said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
From head coach Rick Stockstill and offensive and defensive coordinators Tony Franklin and Scott Shafer to players Brent Stockstill, Chandler Brewer, Malik Manciel and Darius Harris, each gave answers centered around being excited to get to work.
The players officially report back Thursday, with the first practice of 2018 fall camp scheduled for Friday at 9:35 a.m. Fans will be allowed to watch the first 20 minutes of the first three practices, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The rest of fall camp will be closed to the public.
"Every coach in America probably today or that's getting ready to get started is going to tell you how excited they are, and we are," Coach Stockstill said. "This has been a really, really good offseason for us."
Defensive coordinator Scott Shafer is entering his second fall camp with the Blue Raiders. The former Syracuse head coach was instrumental in taking MT's defense from the 96th-ranked unit in the country in total defense in 2016 to 35th in 2017.
Shafer said this spring and summer were different from last year in that he didn't have to deal with as much of a language barrier on the field.
He's excited to see what his defense can do in this year's camp with another year of familiarity in the system.
"The second year at all the places I've been has always been, when I've looked back, my favorite years," Shafer said. "In year one, the language barrier, no matter how hard you try … those kids will revert back to what they called something in the past, and some of the coaches, as well. That language barrier is probably the biggest thing."
While the defense was successful in 2017, it had issues forcing turnovers, coming up with just 11 on the season.
Forcing more turnovers in 2018 will start with consistent pressure from a defensive line that returns eight players that made at least one start last season.
"We do feel like a complete group," redshirt junior defensive tackle Malik Manciel said. "We want to affect the quarterback more so we can put him in pressure situations so he'll throw a pick. We're really just working on our pass rush."
A strong defensive line could also make a transition in the linebacking corps easier to handle.
Linebacker D.J. Sanders played 51 career games (tied for third all-time at MT) in the middle linebacker spot the past four seasons, but with him gone, a new name will have to step in and quarterback the defense.
"It was tough for us to lose D.J.," redshirt senior linebacker Darius Harris said. "As leaders, with me and Khalil (Brooks) being some older guys on the team and in the linebacker room, we just want to get the young linebackers up to speed so they know what to do. We want to all be on the same page so we can play fast and make plays."
On the other side of the ball, Tony Franklin is entering his third season as offensive coordinator.
This fall, his main objective may be to find a backup quarterback for redshirt senior Brent Stockstill, who missed nine games combined the past two seasons due to injuries.
"We don't have a backup right now, we have five," Franklin said. "They'll be competing every day in every single thing that they do.
"These kids can play, and if they have to play, they'll be ready to play. I think everyone will be excited when they get to see them play."
Whichever quarterback wins the backup role may be the leader to take over the starting job next year with Brent Stockstill entering his final fall camp Friday.
The Murfreesboro native is the school's all-time leader in almost every passing category, and he's ready for what will undoubtedly be a bittersweet season.
"The summer was really good … and this is one of the closest teams I've been a part of my whole life," he said. "I've tried to put on that leadership cap with the young guys to try and leave this place in a good spot when I'm gone and leave a lasting impact on those guys."
If it's going to be a successful year for Brent Stockstill and the offense, they'll have to get consistent play from the offensive line.
Franklin said the offensive line may have been the group with the best offseason, and most notably seniors Chandler Brewer and Carlos Johnson looked to take a next step.
"It's always great when you get a bunch of guys back," Brewer said. "The energy between everybody and the experience helps a lot. We're looking forward to seeing our young guys step up and try to beat one of us out. We're always looking for competition. That's the only way we're going to get better as a team."
A lot of work is left to be done before the Blue Raiders travel to Vanderbilt on Sept. 1 for the season opener. Nonetheless, Coach Stockstill and his team are excited to get started on what they hope is a successful 2018 campaign.
"I'm really excited; I like our team and I like where we're at right now," he said.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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