Murray State University Athletics
MSU Hosts 2003 Football Media Day At Stewart Stadium
8/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State football head coach Joe Pannunzio and several MSU players spoke with the media during the annual football media day in the Racer Room at Roy Stewart Stadium on Monday afternoon. More than 20 members of the media attended as Pannunzio and the players spoke on the upcoming football season, which opens on Aug. 30 against Valparaiso. Kickoff between the Racers and Crusaders is set for 6 p.m. at Stewart Stadium in Murray, Ky.
Quotes from head coach Joe Pannunzio during media day on Monday:
On the start of the 2003 football season:
"It's exciting to be here. As we start our fourth season in Murray, one of the things I've noticed that's different this year is that our players are really taking on the personality of our coaching staff. These are the kids that we recruited and they're really buying into the things that we're doing. There's a lot of excitement around our program and around our game with Kentucky on Sept. 6. That's a game that's never happened here at Murray State, and our kids are really looking forward to it as well. We're also excited about the Ohio Valley Conference season, with two new teams coming in with Jacksonville State and Samford."
"I'm also happy that we're working on a new contract extension for me at Murray State and we're in the final stages of that. I'm excited to be in Murray and I'm excited to stay here. When I came here originally, I didn't know anything about Murray State, but after being here for the last three seasons, I'm very happy with how things have gone and I'm really looking forward to this season."
On the keys to the 2003 season for MSU:
"The biggest issue we face as we head into this season is the chemistry thing. We lost a lot of kids on both sides of the line. Offensive lineman are kids that really bond together, and the longer you have them together, that's how you become efficient. We lost a lot of our starters from last year, and that's an area that we've really been working hard at. I've been surprised and amazed so far in practice at how fast our kids have come together, and we haven't had a bad practice yet. Normally, by now, we would've had one of those dog practices where you're just wasting your time, but our kids have fought through that, and hopefully, that's a sign of what's going to happen for us throughout the year."
On the biggest area of concern for the Racers in 2003:
"The area of our team I have the most concern with is our special teams. We lost Shane Andrus (place kicker) and Brian Bivens (punter) from last year, and to replace those kids is going to be a huge undertaking. Right now, we have Jesse Ohliger and David Gaither competing for the punting job. Both of them seem to have legs as strong as Bivens, but the consistency factor is very important, and it could end up hurting us down the road. Jesse (Ohliger) is our place kicker right now, but we also have a couple of other kids fighting for that job, so it should be a good competition. Thank goodness we have our long snapper (William Rasinen) back, so we should be pretty good there. The rest of the special teams should be better because we've got better athletes this year than we've had in the past. If you come watch us practice, the first thing you'll probably notice is that we do have a bunch of athletes out there, and that always helps on your special teams."
On the MSU quarterbacks in 2003:
"Anytime you start the season with a returning quarterback that you've had for three years, you're in pretty good position. Stewart (Childress) has gotten better and is even more comfortable with what we're doing. Heck, he makes checks at the line quicker than I can make them, so he'll be fine. One that has jumped out at me is our backup, Stephen Hatchell. He seems like he's grown up and matured. We're putting him in situations with the first team guys a lot more than we have in the past, and we don't seem to miss a beat."
On the MSU offensive line:
"This is the area that everybody's asking about. We went out and recruited five, six, seven kids and they're all here, but we're still short about one offensive lineman, so we could always add a little depth there. The biggest thing is to get our offensive linemen to play together because I think we're going to be athletic enough. The key is to become as efficient as we were last year."
"Justin Ard is our center and he's out right now after having surgery a couple weeks ago to repair a right knee injury. He should be back near the end of August, and we'll need him because he's our best offensive lineman and he's our center, which is like having a coach out on the field. We'll be more efficient once we get him back in there."
On the tight ends at MSU in '03:
"I'm excited about our tight ends. Jimmy St. Louis and Brandon Roddy are both returning, and I think they should probably be as good a pair of tight ends as there is in the OVC. We probably need to use them a little more and get them more involved in our passing game."
On the MSU receiving unit:
"When you talk about our receivers, the first guy that jumps out at you is Deandre Green. He seems to be getting better both on and off the field. He's a leader for us and he had a great summer, so we're excited to have him back for his senior year. What we need is to have at least one other receiver step up and take over the role that Marcus Christon had for us last year. Right now, the guy's that are in position to do that are Andrew Nowacki, David Dobbins, Leonard Nutter, Chris Wright and Terrence Biggers. One of those kids has to step up and become a playmaker for us and take some heat off of Deandre."
On the Racer running game:
"As always, we're going to try and be exciting with some trick plays and get the ball all over the field, but really and truly, I would like to get the ball and run it right down everybody's throat. And until they prove we can't do that, then we're going to try and play that way. Our team and our program has been built on toughness and we have tough kids. Hopefully, when teams talk about stopping us, they talk about stopping a pretty good rushing attack."
"We'll probably be running back by committee this season, with Ron Lane and Ulysses Odoms leading the way. Those two guys did a good job last year, and they really get it started for us."
"At fullback, we've got Jamie Alexander coming back off of the broken ankle and we've got Bo Baxter coming back. Those two guys are both very good for us and that's a very important position for our offense. If Jamie can get back to where he was before the injury, we should be in great shape with those two guys in there."
On the MSU defensive secondary:
"We really, really helped ourselves with Michael Hanley getting eligible. We've also got a transfer from Louisville, Laroni Gallishaw, who was All-CUSA, and he could really be a factor for us. Both of those kids are big time corners and could probably play at most anywhere in the nation. Anytime you have corners who can play man-coverage, your defense should start to come around. Our safety position is solid with Demetrick Westbrook and Bobby Sanders. Bobby is a guy that we've always tried to beat out, but he just continues to get better every year and ends up leading our team in tackles. Another guy we've added is Stanford Simmons, who was a starter at Auburn a couple of years ago and sat out last year. He wanted to come back and finish his degree, and he should also really help us in the secondary. And we also have Clarence Young, a transfer from Indiana who is a solid athlete who plays hard and is very tough."
On the defensive line situation:
"Inside, we've got Brandon Dixson, who is sort of a cornerstone for us, along with Matt Dennis. And then we have two big kids, Pete Zachary, who's over 300 pounds and runs under 5.0 in the forty, and he has a chance to be a good football player for us. And then, we were lucky this summer to add Marcus White, a transfer from Auburn who started down there as a true freshman. So, I think we've helped ourselves in the area of defensive tackle. On the end, Greg Blake is back, and we moved Greg Archer to the outside at end, and both of those kids seem to be doing well. We also have a freshman, Doug Fashaw, who we signed a couple of years ago and he could end up being a very good player for us in the near future."
On the MSU linebackers:
"I was really concerned going into the offseason with our inside linebackers. We moved Tyrone Parks to the inside and he seems to be real active in there, along with Patrick Schultz. Then we have two other kids backing them up in Dylan Evans and Rohan Godson, and all four of those guys have had a lot of experience in games, and we feel pretty good right now with where they are. Our drop linebacker is a position that is out there on the edge and has to make plays for us and right now that's Jonathan Dykes. He's a guy who is a great athlete, but he hasn't had a lot of experience, so that's a key spot for us."
On the OVC race in 2003:
"I think Southeast Missouri is certainly the team to beat with everything they have coming back, but I think you have to throw a lot of teams in the mix. Eastern Kentucky is going to be a good team. Eastern Illinois has all those kids coming back on defense, so they'll be right in the middle of it. I think Jacksonville State may be the team to surprise some people because they recruit a lot of transfer kids and they have talent, so if they put it all together, they'll be in the middle of it. Tennessee State's had a good recruiting season and they've added some I-A transfers, so they'll certainly be very talented. And then, you can never throw Tennessee Tech out of it because they are probably the best coached team in the OVC. So, it should be a very good battle in the OVC."
