Media Day: Bono Touches All The Bases

Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Central Michigan football coach John Bonamego met the media on Sunday during the Chippewas' annual Media Day at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

The Chippewas, who finished 8-5 last season and reached the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, open the 2018 season at Kentucky on Sept. 1 (3:30 p.m.).

As is typically the case with Media Day, Bonamego touched on a wide variety of subjects, among them sophomore quarterback Tony Poljan, the Chippewas' training camp workload, and the relative youth of his football team.

POLJAN'S PROGRESS
As serving as an understudy behind graduate-transfer Shane Morris last season, Poljan has won the starting quarterback job in a battle with fifth-year senior Tommy Lazzaro.

Poljan saw enough of the field, both as a passer and as a receiver, a year ago to get his feet wet. But being the starting quarterback is an entirely different matter than getting on the field for a handful of plays each week.

"You talk about a young man who consistently goes above and beyond," said Bonamego of Poljan, who was highly coveted coming out of Lansing Catholic in 2015, when he was named the Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year. "Every day at 6:30 (a.m.) he's in the weight room jumping rope, working on his cardio. He studies, he works, he's detailed. I've seen him improve across the board in everything."

Bonamego cautioned that Poljan is nowhere "near a finished product" and that patience, as is the case with any young player, is critical.

"The more success he has the more confidence he gains (and) he's just going to continue to improve," Bonamego said, adding that Poljan completed 12 credit hours of summer school and carries a grade point average north of 3.5. "He is definitely a young man who's made of the right stuff, and it's important to him. Another guy that just does everything right on and off the field. I'm really high on Tony Poljan"

PLENTY OF HELP
Poljan won't have to shoulder the load himself. Though the Chippewas are young at wide receiver, they are loaded at running back.

Junior Jonathan Ward emerged last season as one of the top ball carriers in the Mid-American Conference, rushing for 1,019 yard (a 5.7 per-carry average) and catching 48 passes for 470 yards. He scored 13 touchdowns.

Poljan, to his credit, can run. He amassed more than 3,000 yards and scored 58 rushing touchdowns as a prepster.

At 6-foot-7 and 235 pounds, Poljan possess the frame to take a hit, and the Chippewas will certainly attempt to take advantage of his legs as well as his arm in 2018.

The Chippewas will very likely utilize that skill in 2018.

"The designed quarterback runs, it's part of what we do," Bonamego said, adding that increasingly in college football, the mobile quarterback is not a trend, but a permanent part of the game. "If he's a guy who can go get those yards, whether it be by design or by improvising, that just puts a lot of stress on defenses."

CAPTAINS
Bonamego said the Chippewas plan to announce their captains by the end of the week. He speculated on who may be elected by their teammates to fill those all-important roles.

On defense, he pointed out three obvious choices in middle linebacker Malik Fountain, a four-year starter, and linemen Mitch Stanitzek and Nate Brisson-Fast. On offense, he mentioned linemen Shakir Carr and Clayton Walderzak.

In talking about Walderzak, who was injured in spring practice and is now rehabilitating, Bonaemgo grew emotional.

The senior from Standish, who has suffered a rash of injuries throughout his career, made six starts at tackle last season after moving from tight end. At 270 pounds, he is about 30 pounds lighter than a typical tackle.

"I don't think you're going to find a tougher guy on any roster, anywhere," Bonamego said. "He has attacked his rehab. They say he's at least a month ahead of schedule. That doesn't happen by going through the motions. Anyone who has had to rehab post-surgery knows that it's painful. You have to get yourself up to go in there every day and put yourself through that.

"I have a ton of respect for him and just his toughness and how he works. We can't wait to get him back."

THE CAMP GRIND
Bonamego said he adjusted the training camp schedule this season in consultation with strength and conditioning coach Jason Novak and Assistant Athletic Director of Sports Medicine Brian Wiese.

Bonamego said the changes involve building up and then maintaining, rather than early intensity and then a tapering off as the end draws near. The idea, he said, is to lessen the potential wear and tear on the players' bodies and keep them mentally sharp.

"As coaches we're kind of wired to think that more is better, and that's not necessarily always the truth," he said. "If your work is more concentrated, more focused, and you allow the players time to recover the dividends will pay off down the road. They're been in an in-season routine since basically the fourth or fifth day of camp.

"The things I look for are body language, effort, focus. I want to see improvement from everybody, myself included. I expect everybody in the program to get a little bit better every day. Show up on time, be where you're supposed to be, do what you're supposed to do, and do it to the best of your ability. If you can do that then you have a chance to improve."

YOUTH MOVEMENT
Yes, the Chippewas have a good number of veterans, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.

But overall, CMU is very young. About 75 percent of the 100-plus-player roster is comprised of underclassmen.

"It's fun to coach young kids," Bonamego said. "It can be a blessing and a curse. In this case I think it's more of a blessing. I am really, really, really impressed with the maturity level overall of most of these guys and their athleticism. We're young from an experience standpoint, but we're very, very talented."

On the field, the Chippewas will be particularly young in the secondary, at wide receiver and at tight end, in addition to at quarterback.

"You never know how a player's going to react until you put them in a game," Bonamego said. "They're talented, they're capable. We'll roll them out there and they'll show us what they're able to do.

"We're not done yet. We still have two weeks. We'll use every day, every hour, every minute, every second that we can to continue to improve and get better."

SPARTANS ON THE HORIZON
The Chippewas venture into Southeastern Conference country for their season opener at Kentucky, beginning a five-game stretch in the month of September.

The home opener is Sept. 8 at home against Kansas of the Big 12 followed by the Mid-American Conference opener at Northern Illinois. The Chippewas' final nonconference game is at Michigan State on Sept. 29.

The Spartans went 11-3, won the Holiday Bowl and finished 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 in 2017. They are ranked 11^th heading into the 2018 season.

"Our players are aware of Michigan State, who they are and where they are," Bonamego said. "A lot of them grew up maybe wanting to play there. They're certainly aware of the history of the game and we're also aware of how talented they are and how well coached they are.

"Right now, to be honest, we haven't talked about that. All of our focus and all of our energy is (in) trying to get better every day and looking towards our first game at Kentucky."

Players Mentioned

Shakir Carr

Malik Fountain

Tommy Lazzaro

Shane Morris

Tony Poljan

Mitch Stanitzek

Clay Walderzak

Jonathan Ward

Central Michigan University Athletics