Murray State University Athletics
Murray State Football Preseason Practice #15/Media Day
8/16/2007 5:00:00 AM | Football
Murray State head football coach Matt Griffin met with members of the local media today, as part of the Media Day festivities held in the Racer Room in Stewart Stadium.
Defensive coordinator Rich Nagy and offensive coordinator Mickey Fein also took questions from reporters.
Griffin began the press conference announcing that today's practice, scheduled for 3:35 p.m., had been cancelled. The players were pleasantly surprised that instead of practicing in the 100-degree weather, they would be taken to the Susan E. Bauernfeind Student Recreation and Wellness Center to swim in the pool at 4 p.m.
Griffin then broke down several offensive and defensive positions, saying that there are still several starting slots open and that the coaches would address those needs after the scrimmage Friday at 3:35 p.m.
"Our offensive line made some great strides from one year ago," Griffin said. "Coach (Mike) Hayes and coach Fein are definitely more comfortable with them, and about seven or eight of them came back in the summer in good shape."
"At running back we mainly feature Charlie Jordan and Josh Jones, they are both in their second camp this fall," Griffin said. "Specifically, Charlie looked, sounded, and acted very tired last spring but that hasn't been the case so far. His leadership skills are excellent."
"At wide receiver we have a lot of newcomers like Antoinne Lightfoot and Marcus Harris, who we've used at quarterback as well and he is just a heck of an athlete," Griffin said. "I've also been pleased with the progress of guys like Lee McGinnis, Rod Harper, and Derrick Townsel."
"At quarterback we have Zach (Barnard) and Jeff (Ehrhardt) and Chris Franklin has emerged as another guy we can go to," Fein said. "We will evaluate them after the scrimmage Friday and things should shake out Saturday as to who the starter is."
"We have a pretty solid group of defensive linemen and we got deeper with our recruiting class," Griffin said. "We have a lot of guys who contributed for us last year as freshmen - Blake Booth, Will Roach, Tyler Sinclair, Austen Lane, Karl Finkes - and we also have guys like Danny Blakemore and Jordan Malay so we have really helped ourselves with our depth."
"At linebacker, we have Nathan Williams and Wade Peters battling every day in practice," Nagy said. "We also have Tamar Butler, who came back to camp in good shape but we are being precautionary with him because of a minor injury and we need to get him back out on the practice field. We've also had freshman Zach Kutch emerge in practice, and Rod Jackson and Lamar Jones will see some time."
"We have a couple of good safeties in Taylor Lanigan - who's just a really good football player," Nagy said. "Will Werner has been out for most of practice with a nagging injury but we will get him back soon, and we also have a lot of freshmen who are progressing nicely, especially Marvin Robinson, Jr. - who's been a pleasant surprise."
"At corner, Derrick Parrott is playing as well now as he has at any time during our 19 months we've been here," Griffin said. "We also have a competition going on between Koji Farrington and John Jean-Baptiste for another corner slot, and they bring great competition every day in practice."
"We spend as much time with special teams as we do with the offense and defense," Griffin said. "That's one-third of the game right there, and it even wins a few games for you sometimes. Right now we have a true freshman Tyler Weiss and we have Sean O'Brien, who came down with mono halfway through last year and they are competing for both the kicking and punting job."
When asked to compare this point of the 2007 season compared to the same point of the 2006 season, Griffin said there is a huge difference.
"We're deeper, more competitive," Griffin said. "It helps to have 90 kids in camp. We've been with the kids for a full year cycle now. This year, the freshmen came back as sophomores, but they are still veterans because we only have 13 juniors and seniors. You can't say enough about how good of shape these kids came back in. Even with the summer heat and being outdoors, there's been no complaining. They want to win championships."
Griffin then commented on their season opener at Louisville on Aug. 30.
"That's a heck of a way to start the season," Griffin said. "Their team speed is awesome. Their tailbacks and quarterbacks are excellent. Their wide receiver (Mario) Urrutia is very athletic and very good. Their kicking game is very sound and they don't make many mistakes. We've definitely raised the standard from a talent standpoint with Louisville, but that's a positive for us."
"This is the fifth or sixth (Bowl Championship Subdivision) game as a staff, and it's definitely a challenge for the kids," Griffin said. "They like the challenge, especially the Kentucky kids - they know who Louisville is."
Griffin was then asked about the Ohio Valley Conference as a whole, and if this was the year that an OVC team would win a game in the postseason.
"Everyone's gotten better on defense," Griffin said. "When I was an offensive coordinator at Tennessee-Martin back in 1997-1998, defense was a secondary thought. Defense wins championships, and now we have gotten back to having better defensive teams."
"The OVC has to get that playoff win if we want to prove we are for real come December," Griffin said. "(Winning in the postseason) is huge in recruiting. Everybody wants to play on that Friday night in Chattanooga on national television."
The Racers will have their second scrimmage of the preseason Friday at 3:35 p.m. at Stewart Stadium.
Murray State opens its 83rd season of college football on Aug. 30 at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium, where they will face the University of Louisville Cardinals. Kick-off time is set for 6:30 p.m.
