Calm before the storm..

Today is relatively quiet in the Murphy Center football offices today. The constant quiet is broken up by the random shouts of a coach (mainly Coach Bibee) yelling for another coach to run to his office to see a recruit that he thinks is a stud. Other than that most coaches and staff have left for the day to spend time with family or to make the drive to Louisville to support MT Baseball as they play Vandy at 2pm.
Tomorrow is an off day for staff before the storm that is MT Football Camps rolls into "The Boro" for a week of non-stop action. It all starts off Sunday with the Rick Stockstill Elite Camp for 9th-12th graders, then Monday-Thursday its Youth Camp for 1st-8th graders, followed by another Elite Camp on June 7th.

Jenkins signs w/ Eagles

Former Middle Tennessee defensive tackle Trevor Jenkins signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Eagles on Wednesday. The Macon, Ga., native got the call he had been waiting for on Tuesday evening.

Jenkins, 6-1, 287 pounds, finished his career in 2008 by starting in 37 straight games and his 47 career games played is the most of any Blue Raider in the FBS era.

A second team All-Sun Belt Conference selection, Jenkins had 26 tackles last year to go with 5.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Jenkins was also tabbed the Middle Tennessee Student-Athlete of the Year.

Trevor has been a great asset to the Blue Raider Football program off the field as well. He was heavily involved in many of the MT Football community service projects and volunteer opportunities.

NCAA Compliance..

The daily staff meeting had a slight change today as MT's head of NCAA Compliance stopped by to talk with the football staff about the new NCAA Rules & Legislation that will be effective this season. The meeting which lasted roughly 45mins covered the many new recruiting rule changes that coaches will have to abide by this year. Coaches also had a chance to ask questions about these new rules and how they will be applied in different situations.

The other main goal of this meeting is to prep the coaching staff for the annual NCAA Coaches Certification test which will be given taken Thursday. Coaches must pass this test each year in order to recruit, so there is plenty of studying going on in between watching recruiting film today.

Voices in the halls...

The volume and energy in the Murphy Center is back today as the football staff is off the road and back in their offices as the spring evaluation period comes to a close. Now its non stop film review for the offensive and defensive staffs as they pour over countless hours of high school film discussing the pro's and con's and upsides for each and every recruit they visited.

Evaluations winding down..

This is the last big week for MT coaches to be out beating the pavement looking for next year's top recruits. After a long weekend, Coach has given everyone Monday off for Memorial Day, coaches will be locked away in the staff meeting rooms watching all the film they have gathered over the last month. Monday-Thursday will be spent meticulously viewing film in order to find which players the Blue Raiders should follow in the fall.
Friday the coaches will change gears a bit as we will meet to plan our big week of camps May 31-June 7th. Hundreds of athletes will be on the MT campus during that week for our youth and elite football camps. Its never too late to sign up so call our camp hotline for more information 615.898.2926

May31: Rick Stockstill Elite Football Camp, Rising 9th-12th graders
June 1-4: Rick Stockstill Youth Football Camp, Rising 1st-8th graders
June 7: Rick Stockstill Elite Football Camp, Rising 9th-12th graders

Remington Man...

Some exciting news out of the Boro today...center Mark Thompson was just named to the 2009 Remington Watch list. Thompson is one of just 44 centers nationwide that have been named to this list. The Remington award, a 10-year old trophy is presented by the Boomer Esiason Foundation, is given out annually to the nation's top center.
The Rimington Trophy committee uses four prestigious All-American teams to determine a winner (American Football Coaches Association, Walter Camp Foundation, Sporting News and Football Writers Association of America).
The center with the most first-team votes will determine the winner, which is announced at the Rimington Trophy Presentation banquet at the Rococo Theater in Lincoln, Neb., Jan. 16.
"It's an honor for Mark to be listed with some of the top centers in the nation and he deserves to be on that Watch List," Middle Tennessee Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill said. "Mark has a great work ethic and he has shown improvement each year. I expect his senior season to be his best yet."

As a side note the award is set up to benefit a great cause. Since its inception the Rimington Trophy Award has raised more than $1.3 million for the award's benefactor, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Repeat Performer

More praise goes to Blue Raider running back Phillip Tanner who has joined some elite company for his work on and off the football field. Tanner was recently selected First Team Academic All-District by ESPN the Magazine and the College Sports Information Directors of America. It marks the second straight year he has earned the honor.
Tanner, a recreation management major, was one of just 24 players named to the first team and one of just two running backs.
The Dallas, Tex., native played in 12 games this past season on his way to recording a career-best 714 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns to go with 13 receptions. Tanner was named the Walter Camp National Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 159 yards on 14 attempts and five touchdowns in win over North Texas while adding a sixth score on a 92-yard kickoff return.

Great job Phillip & keep up the fantastic work!

Football Graduates

We would like to congratulate all the recent MTSU graduates and especially several members of the football program. There was a mix of players that have completed their eligibility and some that are still suiting up for the Blue Raiders this fall.
Playing in 2009:
David DeFatta- Construction Management (Seeking M.S. in Occupational Safety)
Gene Delle Donne- History
Nick Coleman- Exercise Science


Completed Eligibility:
Matt King- Construction Management
John Mark Stephens- Construction Management
Stephen Chicola- Construction Management

Evaluations continue...

The Murphy Center is still very quiet with the coaches still out on the road during the NCAA Spring Evaluation period. Most guys have been out for two weeks straight only stopping in the office on weekends to drop off film. This will be the last week coaches are out on the road before next week's recruiting meetings.

Next week will be devoted to non-stop recruiting meetings where coaches will watch film, discuss recruits and trim down the list of targets for next year's recruiting class.

All Quiet in Murphy Center

Things are strangely quiet around the MT Football offices in the Murphy Center this week. This sudden silence is because the coaching staff is out on the road during this NCAA Spring Evaluation Period.
Coaches will rack up countless miles while combing the southeast doing research on recruiting targets for the 2010 class. Making the most out of this time is critcal in order to properly evaluate a player athletically, academically and socially. Coaches cannot speak with recruits per NCAA guidelines but they will spend time talking with high school coaches, teachers, guidance counselers in order to determine if a recruit is a good fit for MTSU.
At the conclusion of the month coaches will sit down together and review hours of film and transcripts in order to narrow the recruiting target list down from thousands to a few hundred.

During this down time the football staff is busy getting the word out about our Rick Stockstill Summer Football Camps held here at MT. We will be all over the county in the next week spreading the word and handing out information about these great camps. If you would like more information about our youth camps (1-8 Grade) or our Elite Camps (9-12 Grade) visit this >>CLICK HERE FOR CAMP INFO or call our camp hotline @ 615.494.8735

-Thousands of camp flyers ready to go out this week

5 Burning Questions: Coach Stockstill

After some time to review and look over film and his notes from spring practice Coach Stockstill is finally in the hot seat for the last installment of our 5 Burning Questions Series. This is from TSR's interview earlier this morning.

1) TSR-In your mind what were the biggest question(s) you hoped to answer during the spring practice period? Did you find the answers you wanted?

Stock- Question is probably not the right word here because I feel that implies you have doubts about something. I would say I go into every spring with a focus on certain players or position that I hope to see improve or make certain gains.

One of those areas this spring was obviously the quarterback position as we lost a senior starter from last season in Joe Craddock. I was very interested to see how Dwight Dasher and Brent Burnette would perform with what we are doing now on offense and also how they are evolving into the leaders of the offense.

I thought both guys took advantage of the spring and got better each day. Dwight made good decisions with the ball from a protection standpoint. From a leadership view Dwight made great strides and I feel like he is maturing as an individual and as a quarterback. He gained the respect of his teammates this spring and now has to carry that through the summer, camp and into the season. Brent also progressed very well with the new offense but he needs to improve his arm strength which will come with age and continued work in the weight room. Brent is also a good leader and will only continue to improve as he gets more opportunities to play. He really works hard and takes pride in how he conducts himself and how he goes about his business. I have a lot of confidence that if both guys have a great summer working out, studying the playbook and truly buy into what we preach about competing in every aspect of life in order to be great I feel like they can help this team get to where it needs to go.

The second area I wanted to watch was our group of linebackers. Obviously Danny Carmichael is our foundation at that position but I was intrigued to see how the group around him would respond to the opportunity of being thrust into the arena so to speak. We know there is potential on campus right now but we needed to see that carry over on the field or we might have to consider throwing the incoming guys in the mix during camp.

I thought Cam Robinson performed his best since his arrival here. Hopefully he will build on this momentum and carry it over into the summer and fall. I think that during the early spring he changed his mind set and made a commitment to step up his game mentally and physically. Gorby Loreus and Darin Davis also made great strides and showed why we were excited to bring them on campus. The position is still a major concern mainly from the lack of depth but if these guys continue to compete and get better it will be a solid group.

2) TSR- What are your thoughts on the progression of the offense so far under Tony Franklin? In what area is the offense ahead of schedule and in what area has it been slower to develop?

Stock- I think the second half of spring ball is when the guys were able to flip the switch and begin to get better in this offense. After they began adjusting to the terminology and new position techniques you could see improvements each day. Now with that said I don’t feel like we are ahead of schedule in any area at this point, it will be a gradual process of learning and I am pleased at where we are at this point of the process. Along with that if we are behind or deficient in any area it is with the individuals who missed spring because of injuries; guys like Jake Padrick, Brandon McLeroy, Colin Boss, Marcus Thurmond and Sancho McDonald.

3) TSR- How do you feel about the young quality players that are starting to add depth on defense? What impact do you hop the ’09 signees have on the defensive side of the ball?

Stock- I feel good that we are beginning to develop depth on defense except for the linebacker position. That’s why our coaches hit recruiting so hard and spend a lot of time evaluating film; we want to bring guys in that we feel can really compete. The strongest showing for our young guys right now is in the secondary, we have some talented older guys there already but Derrick Crumpton, Denzell Guerra, Hakeem Johnson and Jawan Carson have added quality depth to the position and will compete just like the older guys. Up front Phillip Tinsley and Kendall Dangerfield both showed flashes of really good things to come as they have a big upside. With injuries and depth issues the linebackers, skill guys and a defensive end will have the quickest chance to see the field this fall.

4) TSR- As players start their summer program at the end of May, what benchmarks or indicators of improvement will you hope to see at the conclusion of the summer going into camp?

Stock- Our players have always reported to camp in great physical condition because of the summer program they go through. Our guys work harder than any team I have ever been associated with and they do this all on their own because the NCAA mandates that summer workouts are voluntary. Because of their track record and because I know they want to compete I don’t have any doubts they will enter camp in great shape. The QB’s, RB’s and WR’s must have a productive summer throwing and catching in order to continue progressing in this offense. If they don’t compete and make positive gains this summer then we won’t be able to progress as quickly as an offense in camp.

5) TSR-Going into the 2009 season what goals do you have in mind as the next step in the progression of this program?

Stock- My goals are always basically the same, for us to become the best team we can possibly be. If every player plays and performs to their full potential and competes every day in practice and in every game then I will be satisfied. What you hate as a coach is for your team or players not to compete and not reach their full potential. I want our team to compete at everything we do, to be the best in the country, no matter what it is; academics, practice, weights or games. Every guy has to buy into that mindset, he has to compete and believe that nobody will out work me. If our guys do that and they play up to their full potential then I believe we can have a season to be proud of!

Extra Point- Being the avid baseball fan, who are your early favorites for the ’09 World Series?
That’s a tough call so early in the season but…
1- AL= New York Yankees- because of Mickey Mantle
2- NL= Atlanta Braves- because of Gene “Give it Away” Garbe

Bowling Green Bound

The MT men's Golf team will be headed to The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, KY. Coach Whit Turnbow couldn't be happier with how things worked out for the Blue Raiders, "I think we got a great draw". "Most of our guys have played the course and are familiar with it so I think that gives you a bit of a leg up because it's going to be difficult. Being close enough where their families and people in the community can go watch them play is something you couldn't have scripted any better."

The first round event will be May 14-16 as MT will face some of the country's top teams:
Washington, Georgia Tech, N.C. State, UCLA, Mississippi, East Tennessee, Duke, Louisville, Ohio State, Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee, Austin Peay, Cleveland State, Bucknell

Low five teams advance to NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championships at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio May 26-30.

Best of luck to Coach Turnbow and his squad. ALL IN!

Tourney Destination??

The MT Men's Golf team awaits final word on their destination for the NCAA Regional today. The team, athletic staff and fans will find out the location via conference call today at 5pm in the MT Hall of Fame building. Best of luck to Coach Turnbow and his team!!