Note:I am going to the beach for a week starting Friday, so I may or may not be able to post an update. 

The defensive line is certainly a question mark going into the season with the loss of all-I-AA end Adam O’Connor, but with experience in Josh Wright and Brian Williamson I think we will be just fine. He are some quotes from defensive end Josh Wright.

Filling the void of Adam O’Connor

“We have a lot of experience coming back, 2 starters from last year and 2 who were in the starting rotation, especially at DT. We have a great group of young guys to fill in and give us some depth at the other defensive end position and I think those guys will step up and take the care of that role pretty well.”

On the MD game

“I always love playing at big venues, a I-A game and it’ll be a night game which adds more excitement.”

On the 2 night games

“That[the 2 night games] will be fun. Especially being on new turf, I bet the fans are excited.”

On the new field

“We’ve been practicing out here all summer, a couple afternoons a week, and it’s just as good if not better than grass. When it gets wet, it doesn’t get slippery or muddy, and it’s just as quick if not quicker. Mud games are fun, but I sure am glad we got this turf.”

Tomorrow I’ll look at the Linebackers with quotes from the McLaurins, Josh Rutter, and Chris Ndubueze.

The receiver position should be strong this year with SR. tight end Matt Trinkle, wide recievers Joe Nicholas, D.J. McAulay, and Elliot Mack. I got a chance to talk to Matt Trinkle and Joe Nicholas about the upcoming season.

Joe Nicholas on the loss of Josh Lustig

“He was a great reciever and knew the offense really well. He really showed us younger guys the ropes. It’s obviously a huge loss since he had so much experience playing-wise and just knowing the game, being around it his whole life. He showed us as much as he could and it will be a big loss but we have a lot of younger guys that will step up and do a real good job.”

Joe Nicholas on the new field

“I’m hoping it will help us, I’m obviously not the fastest guy, but I hope it will give us the extra step. I worked out on it at my high school all summer. It feels nice, I love it, I like it better than the grass, I’m just more comfortable.”

Joe on the Maryland game

“I’m excited about it. It’s always nice to play that big team, you feel like a superstar in front of 40 or 50 thousand people. We’re just going to go out and use it as a bar to see where we are individually and as a team. Everyone expects them to beat us, everyone expects their players to be a lot better than we are, so it’s a good test to see where we will be for the rest of the season”

Matt Trinkle on the field turf(has a different view than everyone else)

“I personally liked the grass, but in the long run it doesn’t make much difference. It is nice, but I prefer the grass”

Tomorrow is O-Line and Cody Morris.

This season we also have 2 solid running backs, the pound-it-up-the-middle SR., Elijah Brooks, and the speedy Soph. DeBrian Holmes. I got a chance to talk with Elijah and incoming freshman Courtland Marriner.

Elijah on this season’s expectations

“Hopefully I can build on the individual success I had last season, but if I can’t improve statistically hopefully the team is much better.”

Elijah on the new field

“It’s a beautiful field and I feel like a lot of the time last year in rainy games we had problems with the surface, but now rain or shine I think the field will be great.”

Elijah on the UMD game

“It’s going to be good and go back home at Maryland which is right down the street from my highschool, so it’s going to be real fun. I know we have a good opportunity to beat them”

Courtland Marriner on how he fits in the offense this season

 ”Hopefully I can take kicks on special teams, and I’ll see what play time I can get on the offensive side of the ball, but we haven’t even had our first practice yet, so I’ll just go with the flow”

Courtland on the MD game

“I’m excited. A big game on tv. If I can show out in this game, than maybe I can do something big, but I just want to help the team win this game however I can”

Tomorrow I will be posting my chat with Matt Trinkle and Joe Nicholas about the recievers.

I was lucky enough to go to media day today, so I am starting a series that will take a look and every position and give a few quotes from the players themselves. It starts with QB.

For the second straight year we have a little bit of a QB situation, though this season we at least have a favorite. Mike Potts has a chance at being the starting QB, but the clear favorite is Sophmore Jake Phillips. Here is what he had to say about the upcoming season.

On the Maryland game:

“Right now we are just working on getting our timing down with the recievers and tight ends, but the biggest thing is sticking to our gameplan as Coach [Laycock] always has a good gameplan going into the game and just executing the game plan. If it goes all as planned it should be good”

On the field turf

“I like the new field. The big thing is it will hold the weather a little better since it rains a lot down here, so it should be good for that.”

More about playing MD

“I’m pretty excited about it. [It’s] always exciting to play a big D-1[A] team, and we’ll definitely see where we stand after that game”

Tomorrow I’ll be releasing my short interviews with Elijah Brooks and Courtland Marriner.

The College of William and Mary was denied in their appeal of the NCAA logo decision.

“We strongly disagree with the decision by the Executive Committee and find it absurd that the NCAA continues to target William and Mary—a College that sets the standard for the scholar athlete—because of two feathers on our athletic logo,” said William and Mary Athletics Director Terry Driscoll. “We do know that William and Mary will forever be the ‘Tribe’ and that was the most important victory in this entire process. We’ll review the decision about our athletic logo over the next few weeks as we evaluate what’s in the best interest of our student athletes.”

I consider this a good time to bring this post out of the bottom of the archive. It is absolutely ridiculous that FSU gets off based on the fact that the local Tribes support it, but when WM is supported by the local Tribes it is suddenly forgotten. 

Another reason to hate the NCAA.

By a leprechaun. In my opinion, it looks incredibly ugly. Hopefully I can get it fixed before the move.

Am I the only one that hates it?

You know Football season is close when it’s A-10 media day! Starting at 10:00 AM and going until 12:30, WRHU(Hofstra) will be broadcasting live and will have an interview with Laycock. Also the A-10 preseason teams will be unveiled and they will predict the order of finish in the A-10! I will be updating this post all day, so if you aren’t listening be sure to check back!

Listen Live Link

First update, Jimmye Laycock and all-american OL Cody Morris will be on at 11:50.

Preseason ranks

W&M is 4th in the South.

Here are my recaps of what was said by Jimmye Laycock and Cody Morris at media day.

Laycock:Field turf-Laycock said it was “better than grass” and that it gives the team more practice flexibility

Offensive Line-Laycock said to be successful it must play together and that it helps that Cody Morris can play both center and guard

Defense-Strength in ability and depth is at LB. The D-Line is young and secondary is experienced at the corners. Alan Wheeling and Derek Cox have stepped it up in the Spring.

Loss of Adam O’Connor-Tough to replace his consistency.

Offense/third downs-Offense wasn’t consistent enough and needs to develop a big-play threat.

UMD game-Said “challenge” several times. Likes to give them an opportunity to play a I-A team. Hopes the team looks foward to the challenge.
 

Morris:Chemisty-The O-Line came together during the Spring chemisty-wise. Said he made the transition to center in the Spring. Though the O-Line is young, Morris said that Jake Phillips makes guarding himself easier due to his mobility.

UMD game-Always excited to play a I-A and ACC team and said he can’t wait for the challenge facing an ACC team is.

Cody Morris makes all-preseason A-10 

http://www.atlantic10.org/sports/football/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=2231

Unrelated update:Hampton coming to Kaplan on Dec. 29.

Chris Ray:Ray had another solid month of July, much-needed after his ERA of over 5 in June. Chris only gave up 5 runs(4 of which were in 1 game) in 12 innings to the tune of a 3.75 ERA. His WHIP is at a solid 1, and he has gone 6/7 in save opps. He is now 26/28 on the season.

Bill Bray(Tribe player of the month):Bill was traded to Cincinnati on July 13th, but that didn’t phase him one bit. Quite Frankly he has been on fire. Getting his second career win and first career save, Bray posted a 1.26 ERA and brought his season total(was over 5) down to 3.64. He held batters to a .196 batting average against, and only gave up 2 runs in 14 1/3 innings pitched.

Curtis Pride:Pride has only been up with the Los Angelos Angels of Anaheim for about a week, but in his few AB’s he has definitely impressed. In 5 AB’s, he has hit .600 with his first homer since July ‘03(that gave the Angels a 5-3 lead over the Red Sox on July 29th) a double, 2 runs scored and 2 RBI’s. Hopefully Pride can keep it up, and maybe even get a ring with the Angels later in the year.

Brendan Harris:Though he is no longer with the big club, Harris should get called-up when the September call-ups take place, so I’ll give an update on him. After getting traded in the same deal Bill Bray was to the Cincinnati Reds, Harris has struggled. If he continues to hit .229 with an OPS just over .600, he may not get that call-up, but hopefully it is just nerves as he hit .283 with the Nationals AAA team prior to getting traded.

Wililam and Mary R-Sr. Outside linebacker Ryan Nickell announced he wouldn’t return to the college as a fifth-year senior to instead pursue a career as a pilot in the Air Force. Nickell was a two-year starter, but losing him won’t be as tough to swallow as thought. LB is by far the strongest and deepest position on defense, and with the return of Chris Ndubueze to join players like Josh Rutter and captain Trevor McLaurin(amoung others), I’m not concerned in the least over the LB play this season.