Middle Tennesee State University Athletics
COLUMN: A loose locker room is a confident one
10/3/2021 7:00:00 PM | Football
Middle Tennessee seemed looser than ever post-game against Marshall. And that’s a good thing
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Reed Blankenship entered the Murphy Center green room in full pads, just like Jurriente Davis and Chase Cunningham. But while his QB1 calmly answered questions, praised teammates and discussed the weather, the Blue Raiders' starting safety decided he wanted to do the interview with his pads off.
What followed was a quick sequence, with Blankenship trying to pull the pads off himself on the side, but being unsuccessful, getting them stuck at a spot where the shoulders of the pads were even with his head, making him look like someone dressed up as Frankenstein's monster on Halloween. When he realized he wouldn't get the pads off, Blankenship almost waddled out of the room, got his pads off outside, and then hopped back in just in time to clap for Cunningham as he left the podium.
(Players don't normally get clapped off of press conference podiums, for what it's worth).
A minor moment? For sure. But I think that Blankenship's looseness just before the post game presser offered great insight into where Middle Tennessee's mindset was against Marshall. At home, in a driving rain storm, in a game that our friends in the desert had them pegged at double digit underdogs, it was a perfect storm to get the team to throw off the last three weeks and play like themselves.
"I hope everybody's mind is changed," Blankenship said of fans' perception of this year's team. "I hate that they think that. One or two games here and there doesn't define who we are."
The Xs and Os of Saturday night are pretty straight forward: Marshall had six turnovers, Middle Tennessee had two. That was ultimately the difference between a win and loss, specifically Blankenship's 90-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
But the psychology of the team, at least for one night, has flipped. It was a team that showed, actively, belief in one another. That undercurrent had always been a part of this team, at least in their public statements. Head coach Rick Stockstill was constantly positive on how good he thought his team could be, even when the offensive line struggled in San Antonio, even when the defense missed some open field tackles in Charlotte, even when the special teams coverage gave up big returns in Blacksburg.
To reuse from last night's sidebar what I think is the quote of the night (though with all due respect to Blankenship saying "You've just got to nut up and play ball."), Stockstill said: "They needed something besides me telling them how much I believe in them, how good that I think they are, how close that I think we are. They needed proof other than my voice."
Don't discount how having Chase Cunningham at starting quarterback has helped the whole team either. A former walk-on, who's grinded and worked hard and continued to improve upon his natural talent every year he's been a Blue Raider, has earned tremendous respect from his teammates, and has shown tremendous leadership in getting the team going since he was named the starter against Charlotte.
"Chase is a heck of a quarterback," running back Chaton Mobley said. "He has his chance. He's stuck around here for a long time. We all knew he could do it from Day 1, so he finally had a chance to keep doing it."
Stockstill ended the press conference on Saturday with almost three minutes of just talking about Cunningham's respect within the team, and how that helps his play on the field.
"This team believes in him because they see how hard he works, and they know he cares about the team. It's not about him," Stockstill said. "They like him. And as a quarterback, there are so many things that are more important than how tall you are, how far you can throw it, how fast you are. Those things are great.
"But the intangibles of a great quarterback. The toughness that a quarterback shows. He plays when he's hurt. How he plays when he has a bad play, how he overcomes it. How he doesn't blame somebody for a bad play.
"They respect Chase, they believe in him, and they like playing for him. And as a quarterback, when you have the respect of the team, it gives you a little bit of extra confidence."
Certainly, there's plenty being fixed on the practice field and in the coaches' offices as I write today's column. But after a wet, at times brutal game on Saturday, seeing the excitement, the passion, and the fun this team is having, is definitely something to continue building on.
What followed was a quick sequence, with Blankenship trying to pull the pads off himself on the side, but being unsuccessful, getting them stuck at a spot where the shoulders of the pads were even with his head, making him look like someone dressed up as Frankenstein's monster on Halloween. When he realized he wouldn't get the pads off, Blankenship almost waddled out of the room, got his pads off outside, and then hopped back in just in time to clap for Cunningham as he left the podium.
(Players don't normally get clapped off of press conference podiums, for what it's worth).
A minor moment? For sure. But I think that Blankenship's looseness just before the post game presser offered great insight into where Middle Tennessee's mindset was against Marshall. At home, in a driving rain storm, in a game that our friends in the desert had them pegged at double digit underdogs, it was a perfect storm to get the team to throw off the last three weeks and play like themselves.
"I hope everybody's mind is changed," Blankenship said of fans' perception of this year's team. "I hate that they think that. One or two games here and there doesn't define who we are."
The Xs and Os of Saturday night are pretty straight forward: Marshall had six turnovers, Middle Tennessee had two. That was ultimately the difference between a win and loss, specifically Blankenship's 90-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown.
But the psychology of the team, at least for one night, has flipped. It was a team that showed, actively, belief in one another. That undercurrent had always been a part of this team, at least in their public statements. Head coach Rick Stockstill was constantly positive on how good he thought his team could be, even when the offensive line struggled in San Antonio, even when the defense missed some open field tackles in Charlotte, even when the special teams coverage gave up big returns in Blacksburg.
To reuse from last night's sidebar what I think is the quote of the night (though with all due respect to Blankenship saying "You've just got to nut up and play ball."), Stockstill said: "They needed something besides me telling them how much I believe in them, how good that I think they are, how close that I think we are. They needed proof other than my voice."
Don't discount how having Chase Cunningham at starting quarterback has helped the whole team either. A former walk-on, who's grinded and worked hard and continued to improve upon his natural talent every year he's been a Blue Raider, has earned tremendous respect from his teammates, and has shown tremendous leadership in getting the team going since he was named the starter against Charlotte.
"Chase is a heck of a quarterback," running back Chaton Mobley said. "He has his chance. He's stuck around here for a long time. We all knew he could do it from Day 1, so he finally had a chance to keep doing it."
Stockstill ended the press conference on Saturday with almost three minutes of just talking about Cunningham's respect within the team, and how that helps his play on the field.
"This team believes in him because they see how hard he works, and they know he cares about the team. It's not about him," Stockstill said. "They like him. And as a quarterback, there are so many things that are more important than how tall you are, how far you can throw it, how fast you are. Those things are great.
"But the intangibles of a great quarterback. The toughness that a quarterback shows. He plays when he's hurt. How he plays when he has a bad play, how he overcomes it. How he doesn't blame somebody for a bad play.
"They respect Chase, they believe in him, and they like playing for him. And as a quarterback, when you have the respect of the team, it gives you a little bit of extra confidence."
Certainly, there's plenty being fixed on the practice field and in the coaches' offices as I write today's column. But after a wet, at times brutal game on Saturday, seeing the excitement, the passion, and the fun this team is having, is definitely something to continue building on.
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