Central Michigan University Athletics
Head Football Coach Brian Kelly Answers Fans' Questions
8/3/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 3, 2005
Central Michigan University head football coach Brian Kelly will field your questions regarding the Chippewa program throughout the course of the season right here on cmuchippewas.com. To submit a question to Coach Kelly, access the on-line form here. During the regular season, Ask Coach Kelly will be a weekly feature at www.cmuchippewas.com.
How much do you think the CMU defense will improve this year? I was at the CMU/EMU game last year at Ford Field, and I was frustrated at our lack of defense in that game (a 61-58, four-overtime loss for the Chippewas).
Glenn
Chesterfield, Mich.
Coach Kelly: CMU cannot compete for a championship until our defense improves, particularly in the back end. We made strides in run defense in 2004, dropping our average from 245 to 170 yards allowed per game. But, with only five interceptions last year, and giving up over 260 yards passing per game, our secondary has been the No. 1 concern of mine. Moving personnel within our program, recruiting and some scheme improvements should address some of these concerns.
At the beginning of last year your offense was changed to fit the current team. Will this year's team run an offense more like last year's or something different?
Matt
Rochester Hills, Mich.
Coach Kelly: Last year's offense was a spread offense with "training wheels." Inexperience at the quarterback and wide receiver positions forced us to scale back quite a bit. You will see an offense that in structure will be similar but the tempo will be quite different.
How has the situation involving the downtown brawl affected your preparation for the upcoming season? Do you know who you will have and will not have back for the 2005 season?
Jeremy
Lansing, Mich.
Coach Kelly: The incident that occurred in June of 2004 was a symptom of the problems that existed in this program. Lack of accountability and low standards in terms of what was expected from CMU football players were present. When I took over the leadership role in the CMU program we immediately began instilling the proper values that I believed were missing. With that said, no one player is bigger than the team. We will prepare with the philosophy of "next man in" and expect to succeed.
Dear coach, as loyal CMU football fans my roommates and I were wondering what the status was of the impending Jumbo-Tron and rebricking of the locker room projects.
Chris
Sterling Heights, Mich.
Coach Kelly: We are on track to have a Jumbo-Tron installed by the spring game in 2006. Incorporating the refacing of the locker room into the installation of the scoreboard structure is part of our design plans. This will create a tremendous positive visual effect for Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Coach Kelly, we are really impressed with the strides you have made so far! I was wondering what kind of non-conference match-ups the administration is looking to secure in the future? I really like the Army and Penn State match-ups, and I think that when you have interesting non-conference match-ups it only draws a better recruit and people take notice. Will there be any more I-AA games? Could you elaborate more on this?
Brandon
Savannah, Ga.
Coach Kelly: The landscape of college football and the MAC has changed dramatically in the past six months. First, in 2006, NCAA Division I will be playing 12 regular season games. Secondly in 2006, the MAC, although not an automatic qualifier, will be eligible for participation in the BCS. Because of this, our league and in particular our Commissioner Rick Chryst has forged an alliance with the Big Ten to be part of the that 12th game in terms of scheduling. What this means for Central Michigan is more Big Ten games and in particular Big Ten opponents coming to Kelly-Shorts Stadium. As for 1-AA they will now count toward Bowl eligibility so one must consider adding them to the schedule too. It will make for a lot of schedule changes over the next few months not to mention the addition of Temple into the conference as well.
