Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
COLUMN: “A Perfect Storm”
11/7/2021 6:00:00 PM | Football
Everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong against WKU. Now? It’s all about how the Blue Raiders respond
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Rick Stockstill has a nickname for just about everyone associated with the Middle Tennessee football program. Some are trickier to figure out the origin of, like Associate AD for Communications Mark Owens being referred to as "AC" at every weekly press conference (short for Athletic Communications, so I've been told). Others, like "BB" for Director of Football Operations Brent Brock, are fairly intuitive.
After Saturday's 48-21 loss to Western Kentucky, Stockstill didn't coin a new nickname for his true freshman quarterback, Nicholas Vattiato, who was thrown into the fire with his first career start and tossed five interceptions alongside two touchdowns just north of the TN/KY state line. But the folksy endearment of Stockstill's nicknames shined through all the same in the post-game press.
"He's a mentally tough kid. He showed that. He feels like he let the team down, but it's a team game," Stockstill said. "I love that sucker, and he's going to be alright."
Stockstill referred to his QB as "that sucker" multiple times over the radio interview I overheard waiting for the presser post game, and multiple times in our own press conference. It was endearing to be sure, a show of confidence in a 19-year old freshman's first start on about the biggest of stages he could have at Middle Tennessee, facing arch-rival Western Kentucky on the road.
"People will probably look and question Nick, but it was almost a perfect storm for (WKU) with a first-time quarterback coming in here," Stockstill said. "He did some good things, but forced some balls and was late on a couple of balls. But I believe in that sucker, I believe in him. He'll learn from this and he'll continue to get better."
Vattiato, who said he learned he was the starter for the week on Friday morning before the team headed just under two hours up to the road to Bowling Green, certainly showed flashes of why Stockstill and the coaching staff had confidence in him. The opening drive, where the Plantation, Fla. native completed 4-of-5 passes for 64 yards, including a gorgeous 45-yard strike to DJ England-Chisholm on a post route, got the Blue Raiders off to a hot start. And later on, a 36-yard dot to Yusuf Ali kept MT in the game in the second quarter.
Those five interceptions, part of seven Blue Raider turnovers on the day, however, were too much to overcome. Of course, one could argue that at least three of those were not Vattiato's fault, with each of those three coming off a deflection from his wide receiver's hands. A fourth, an overthrow in the direction of Jaylin Lane, may very well not have been his mistake either, as it was clear Lane ran a route Vattiato was not expecting.
But don't expect No. 18 to push the blame off on someone else. It's that responsibility and drive that helped him make an early impression on the coaching staff that has him as the guy going forward this year with Chase Cunningham, who helped coach up his QB room from the sideline with a headset and full leg brace on his right leg, out for the season.
"I'm the one who's throwing the ball," Vattiato said. "So when it comes out of my hand, wherever it ends up is my responsibility. You can't put the defense in positions like that."
The defense, for their part, likely did the best they could with the short fields. Facing one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the country, the Blue Raiders held Bailey Zappe to his lowest completion percentage of the season, tallying nine pass break ups in the process.
"A lot of teams ran a lot of zone coverage," Teldrick Ross, who had seven tackles and two PBUs at corner, said. "So we were going to try to get after them, run a lot of man pressures, play man coverage, and see how really good he is and how accurate he is."
It clearly worked, particularly the pressure, as MT forced the Hilltoppers off the field on seven different drives, only allowing points on three drives that started in WKU territory. But it was the four WKU scores from plus territory, in addition to the pick 6, that proved to be the difference.
Still, the man coverage prowess provides blocks to build on as a reeling FIU visits Murfreesboro this weekend. The Panthers will enter the weekend with just one win in 2021, and having lost eight games in a row, including every single game they've played thus far in C-USA. It's a chance to get back on the right foot and build something new once again.
"We're going to respond," Stockstill said. "I believe in this team. I told them that in there. It was almost a perfect storm today with what happened."
After Saturday's 48-21 loss to Western Kentucky, Stockstill didn't coin a new nickname for his true freshman quarterback, Nicholas Vattiato, who was thrown into the fire with his first career start and tossed five interceptions alongside two touchdowns just north of the TN/KY state line. But the folksy endearment of Stockstill's nicknames shined through all the same in the post-game press.
"He's a mentally tough kid. He showed that. He feels like he let the team down, but it's a team game," Stockstill said. "I love that sucker, and he's going to be alright."
Stockstill referred to his QB as "that sucker" multiple times over the radio interview I overheard waiting for the presser post game, and multiple times in our own press conference. It was endearing to be sure, a show of confidence in a 19-year old freshman's first start on about the biggest of stages he could have at Middle Tennessee, facing arch-rival Western Kentucky on the road.
"People will probably look and question Nick, but it was almost a perfect storm for (WKU) with a first-time quarterback coming in here," Stockstill said. "He did some good things, but forced some balls and was late on a couple of balls. But I believe in that sucker, I believe in him. He'll learn from this and he'll continue to get better."
Vattiato, who said he learned he was the starter for the week on Friday morning before the team headed just under two hours up to the road to Bowling Green, certainly showed flashes of why Stockstill and the coaching staff had confidence in him. The opening drive, where the Plantation, Fla. native completed 4-of-5 passes for 64 yards, including a gorgeous 45-yard strike to DJ England-Chisholm on a post route, got the Blue Raiders off to a hot start. And later on, a 36-yard dot to Yusuf Ali kept MT in the game in the second quarter.
Those five interceptions, part of seven Blue Raider turnovers on the day, however, were too much to overcome. Of course, one could argue that at least three of those were not Vattiato's fault, with each of those three coming off a deflection from his wide receiver's hands. A fourth, an overthrow in the direction of Jaylin Lane, may very well not have been his mistake either, as it was clear Lane ran a route Vattiato was not expecting.
But don't expect No. 18 to push the blame off on someone else. It's that responsibility and drive that helped him make an early impression on the coaching staff that has him as the guy going forward this year with Chase Cunningham, who helped coach up his QB room from the sideline with a headset and full leg brace on his right leg, out for the season.
"I'm the one who's throwing the ball," Vattiato said. "So when it comes out of my hand, wherever it ends up is my responsibility. You can't put the defense in positions like that."
The defense, for their part, likely did the best they could with the short fields. Facing one of the most prolific quarterbacks in the country, the Blue Raiders held Bailey Zappe to his lowest completion percentage of the season, tallying nine pass break ups in the process.
"A lot of teams ran a lot of zone coverage," Teldrick Ross, who had seven tackles and two PBUs at corner, said. "So we were going to try to get after them, run a lot of man pressures, play man coverage, and see how really good he is and how accurate he is."
It clearly worked, particularly the pressure, as MT forced the Hilltoppers off the field on seven different drives, only allowing points on three drives that started in WKU territory. But it was the four WKU scores from plus territory, in addition to the pick 6, that proved to be the difference.
Still, the man coverage prowess provides blocks to build on as a reeling FIU visits Murfreesboro this weekend. The Panthers will enter the weekend with just one win in 2021, and having lost eight games in a row, including every single game they've played thus far in C-USA. It's a chance to get back on the right foot and build something new once again.
"We're going to respond," Stockstill said. "I believe in this team. I told them that in there. It was almost a perfect storm today with what happened."
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