Central Michigan University Athletics
Quoting Coach DeBord
7/27/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 27, 2000
The following are comments given at the Mid-American Conference Football Press Day held on July 25 at Cobo Hall in Detroit.
Coach Mike DeBord's Opening Statement: "It's good to be back in the Mid-American Conference. I was born and raised right outside of Muncie where Ball State is and I grew up on Mid-American Conference football. The one thing I know about this conference is that it's obviously well coached.
I've always had great respect, wherever I've coached, for the coaching that's done in this conference. Just to be a part of this is a great achievement that I'm proud of.
Since coming to Central Michigan, we've put our feet down and have been running since day one. We've expected a lot from our players and have received that. The one thing I've said to the alumni as we've gone around this summer and spoke to them is that this team has great spirit and a great attitude.
That's something you just don't put in there the first day. It's something that these guys have. They want to win and they are willing to do whatever the coaching staff puts before them.
Obviously when we can have everybody right now on our campus, all of our players are working together and I think that will be very important to our team chemistry as well as our senior leadership. I'm very proud of the sacrifice this football team has put before it to prepare for this upcoming season.
I was talking to Jeff Woodruff of Eastern Michigan (also a first year coach) outside and we feel the same way. We've watched tape and prepared our teams in the spring but we still don't know how it's all going to fit together.
That's something that when you're in the first year you don't know exactly what to expect from a team. We'll fight through that as we go through the season.
I feel our offensive line is one of our strengths right now. We have good depth there, good size and we've increased our strength in the offseason. I feel good about our offensive line.
Our wide receiver position is one that we don't have a lot of depth at but I feel good about the guys we have there.
Our quarterback job right now is wide open. We have a senior there who's played the last two years and he's in competition for the starting position like the rest of the quarterbacks.
The way that I have told the QBs, the entire team, the alumni and everyone else wondering why I haven't named the started at quarterback is because this is a new system. It's new terminology.
He's competing like a freshman right now as far as terminology and knowledge of the system. We're going through the two-a-days before we name our starter at quarterback. I do feel good about the leadership we're getting at that position.
I feel good about our running backs coming out of spring practice. We also have the addition of a guy named Tyrone Dalton who was a Prop 48 last year. We don't know anything about him right now at this time but from everything I've heard he's a fine football player and will add depth there.
I think our fullback D.J. McClure is a guy who came on this spring. Offensively we've got a good unit but I don't know about our depth at certain positions such as tailback and wide receiver.
On defense we're young up front. Our front four will have three years or more of eligibility left. We're young, yet we're very determined. We've got good athletes up there. We've got tough kids. I'm not worried about that position.
Linebacker, I worry about our depth there. We've got Ralph Sewell at outside linebacker returning and Casey Laughlin who has been injured throughout his career but is healthy now. We've also got Darvin Lewis but other than that we'll be young backing those positions up.
The secondary is the strength of our defense. We've got both corners returning. We've moved an outside linebacker to strong safety in Abdullah Muhammad. Obviously our free safety Brian Leigeb is a great leader and a great football player. He's been our leading tackler and everyone says 'Aren't you worried about your free safety being the leading tackler' but I think Brian will tell you that because the way the defense has been set up, to drop the eighth guy down there like everybody's doing, then he's going to be making a lot of tackles."
Q: Last year the team was affected by injuries. Do you believe the strength and conditioning in the spring will help that not happen again?
A: "That's a part of it but as the football coaches who are sitting in this room will tell you, that's fortune, too. We've increased our strength and conditioning program and our kids have been there all summer in the program but a lot of that is fortune."
Q: Who's going to be handling the special teams this season?
A: "George Ricumstrict, our outside linebacker coach, is in charge of the special teams and every coach will be involved in special teams. I believe very much in those and we're going to man them with our best personnel first of all and every coach will coach somebody in special teams.
Our placekicking job is wide open. (Paul) Savich kicked last year but he's competing right now with (Adam) Clyne. Those two guys will battle for that spot.
Brian Brandt will be our punter and he's got four years of eligibility left."
Q: You've talked about how depth is a concern this year but how would you rate the overall talent of the players you have in the program right now?
A: "Well, I think that goes back to what I said earlier. When we go through this season and are playing the teams in this conference, then we will know where we stand.
I like this football team. I know this about the Mid-American Conference. Any given Saturday you're going to be in ball games and its going to come down to that fourth quarter. So I like the way our team is prepared to play in those fourth quarters."
Q: Could you talk about your schedule?
A: "I think that the first part of our schedule is going to be very challenging just as the end will be. We open with Purdue and everyone in here knows about the QB and its offense. But, that game is not going to come to our defense against their offense. It's going to come down to our offense against their defense.
We've got to keep their offense off the field and play as a team in that ball game. Everybody's worried about how our defense will match up against their offense but its going to be what we do as an entire football team.
Then we open with Akron as our first home game and I have respect for what Lee Owens has done with that program and the year that it had last year. It is talented so that will be a great challenge for our home opener.
Then we're off to Wyoming where it has a new coaching staff. It did well last year going 7-4 in the WAC. Then we come back and play Boise State who won its conference and beat Louisville in the bowl game.
Then it's at Toledo and Kent comes to our place. That's our first six ball games and then we have an open week. Then we face five teams that are good teams as well. Before our open date, it's going to be a great challenge every Saturday."
Q: Everybody's been talking about the parity in the MAC. Is that different from other conferences or is it everywhere in college football?
A: "When they went from 105 down to 85 scholarships, what you saw was the Michigan's and Ohio State's losing 20 excellent football players. What happens is those football players are now in the Mid-American Conference. That's why the conference has really taken off and done well against its opponents. I feel that happened when they reduced the scholarships to 85."
Q: As a new coach the opponents probably aren't going to know your system. Will that be an advantage?
A: "The advantage will only probably be against Purdue. We have a new defensive coordinator so they won't know what to expect from us defensively. I would think they'll study where he's been and Michigan's defense a little bit because he was a player there. They'll study and they'll prepare just like us.
Offensively they'll be looking at Michigan. After that first game, though, all the teams will exchange tapes and then we'll know what Akron does and Akron is going to know what we do. From then on it will be even."
Q: Related to that you talked about your new system. How much is your system predicated on your personnel and how much is just your system and then adapting to it?
A: "I've always believed in a system in the offense, defense and kicking game. I've always believed the system has to be adaptable to your personnel. So what we'll do is take a look at our best personnel and then we have to bend a little bit within the system to do things that are to its strengths."
Senior Free Safety Brian Leigeb's Statement: "I'm really looking forward to the season. We've got a real good coach and he's brought a lot of fire and enthusiasm to the team along with all the young guys he's brought in as coaches. The enthusiasm is amazing and it's going to be a positive experience this season with the addition of all these new guys. I think we are going to turn some heads in the MAC."
Q: Brian, what's the biggest change in the coaching transition. Obviously you said the enthusiasm but is there one thing that has stood out?
A: "From the defensive perspective I wouldn't say that the schemes have changed all that much, but just the way they are coaching. You're not afraid to make a mistake. You're not tense out there, you're more relaxed.
If you do make a mistake you can just get them the next play. They don't jump down your throat about it if you make a mistake. If you make a mistake more than once they will obviously get upset about it. They understand what you're going through and they just want you to perform better. If you are relaxed you'll perform better than if you're up tight about anything.
I think that comes from good coaching and the youth that some of the coaches have. They're not so far removed from playing and they know what we're going through."
