Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Some quotes from MAC Media Day

Here are some quotes from MAC Media Day at Ford Field, much of which I tweeted this morning.

CMU head coach Dan Enos:

"Whenever you have to play 10 freshmen like we did last year, there is going to be a learning curve. But those guys gained valuable experience and are going to be surrounded by a very talented senior class. We really like this team."

"To have seven home games is very exciting. We had a brutal road schedule last year and it's nice to have more of a regular schedule."

"The strength of our team is with our seniors, starting at quarterback and then many other positions. We have 20 seniors who will be leaders."

"Having Cody Wilson healthy is huge. In only two games did we have our offensive core healthy. In order for your quarterback to play well, he needs to be surrounded by weapons and Cody is one of those when he is healthy."

"In my opinion, every league is a QB league. The NFL, the Big Ten, our league, all of them. To win a championship, having a great defense and a running game certainly help, but so many things start at quarterback. We feel we have a really good one in Radcliff."

"Coach Cubit at Western always does a really good job and Coach English at Eastern is making great strides with his program. There are going to be some really good in-state games this season."

"Both (running backs) Anthony Garland and Zurlon Tipton had games last year where they ran for over 100 yards. I think Anthony, in particular, was just starting to get going when he got hurt. In the spring, he really performed well and we definitely see him as a big part of our offense. As far as Zurlon goes, he hasn't seen a full year yet. In my first year, he was in and out of the doghouse because of some off-field issues. He's straightened all of that part of his life out and he is doing great academically now. Last year, we were excited about him and he got hurt in the Kentucky game. We're excited about both of those guys and hope to keep them healthy this year. When you have a good running game and a good passing game with a strong offensive line, you make it really tough for opposing teams to says we're going to take this away or we're going to take that away."

"What happened at Penn State was a terrible, terrible tragedy and my heart goes out to the victims and their families."

"I'm hoping for 12 wins, well 13 with the bowl game. You strive to win every game on your schedule. To be honest, this is the best football team we've had in my three years here. We're excited and our feeling is that we want to represent the MAC West in the championship game and play in a bowl game. If we can turn some of those plays that lost us those close games last year into positive plays, I think we have a real shot to be in it."

"We look at our eight MAC games and I think Radcliff was second in our league in passing. We need him to be more consistent, but he made some big strides last year and had moments where he was brilliant. He's put up big numbers in his CMU career and now entering his third year as a starter, if we can improve our defense and in running the ball I expect him to put up even better numbers."

CMU All-MAC Safety Jahleel Addae:

"To be a leader, you first need to be productive. You also need to be a guy teammates can look to whenever."

"We need to stay healthy. We believe in ourselves and each other, so if we can stay healthy we can make this a successful season."

"I just want to play with passion and make a big impact on the game to help my team to this MAC Championship journey."

"I just worked on my form in the off-season. Going against what I believe to be the top WR corps in the nation helps with that."

"Every offense in the MAC is potent. There are a boatload of good quarterbacks and receivers in this conference, so we just need to prepare for every game and study film because everyone we play deserves our utmost respect."

"It's a great home schedule. Every home game is huge, we have teams like Michigan State and Navy coming in as well as a big rival in Western Michigan. It's going to be a lot of fun and we are all really looking forward to it."

"Everyone is raring to get going. All the workouts and seven-on-sevens that we have been doing, everyone is just ready to get the pads on and get rolling with the season."

"We don't have to prove anyone wrong, we just have to prove ourselves right. We have a great team, a great coach, and a great community surrounding us. All the pieces are in place for us to be successful."

CMU Third Team All-MAC left tackle Eric Fisher:

"We have a lot of talented veterans mixed with solid younger players in key roles. With that combination, I think we can get a lot done. We have a very hungry team."

"I think the hardest thing for me when I first got here was in putting on weight. I was 240 a few years ago and now I'm over 300."

"It's never that we weren't comfortable with the offense the past couple of years, it's just that we had to learn the offense. Change is never a bad thing, but there was some transition and learning that had to be done. I think everyone is on the same page this year and we have a great schedule ahead of us. We are all looking forward to showing the nation what Central is made of."

"From our quarterback to our wide receivers to our tight ends to our running backs and up front with the offensive line, we are all on the same page. We have all played together for a few years now and the chemistry is there. I think we have the potential to put up a lot of yards and points."

Eastern Michigan football coach Ron English:

"Our strength starts with our offensive line. We are strong up front and it provides a solid base for our team."

"We have to fill some holes on defense this year as we lost about five starters from last year's group. I have the confidence in the guys we have at those spots, they are high-character guys and good football players."

Western Michigan football coach Bill Cubit:

"This is the most talented and deep MAC West in my time here. It's wide open and every team wants to get to Ford Field."

"Going on the road to play at Central Michigan always makes that game a little tougher. We haven't had a very good history there in my time here and CMU's energy like they draw with the home crowd is very similar to what we have at our place when Central plays us. It's a special game and we'll have to play four full quarters to get the win in Mt. Pleasant."

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