May 2010 Archives

Yesterday the Middle Tennessee coaching staff spent the day catching up on Offensive recruits and spent most of the morning discussing every player they found while on the road on that side of the ball. While most jobs ease up on a Friday, the staff is kicking their productivity into overdrive today and getting a lot of things accomplished.

First on the agenda this morning was the annual NCAA recruiting exam proctored by, MTSU Faculty Athletic Representative, Dr. Terry Whiteside. Coaches have been practicing for this test over the past week in order to ensure they pass with flying colors. A passing grade on this test is mandatory for coaches that plan on going out on the road recruiting during the next year. However, at MTSU Coach Stockstill wants every member of the football staff to take the test so he can ensure everyone with a fingerprint on the program is aware and complies with NCAA regulations.

After testing the staff turned their attention to next week's camps which begins with Sunday's high school camp, youth camp during the week and another high school camp the following Sunday. After last year's record breaking attendance, over 500 campers for the first one day camp, the staff is preparing for even higher numbers this year and has to make sure they have a comprehensive plan so things will run smoothly.

This might seem like a lot to tackle for the morning but after a short break Recruiting Coordinator Justin Watts is back up on the board as the staff mulls over all the defensive prospects they saw while out on the road this spring. There are a lot of prospects up on the board and a lot of young men that are interested in Blue Raider Football....It might be a late lunch today!!

After being on the road for 4 weeks over the months of April & May the Middle Tennessee coaching staff is back in the office and back to work. This is the first day that all the coaches have been together, most have been in and out of the office this week trying to get their notes and stats together on all the prospects they have seen over the last few weeks. Today's staff meeting starts a week long flurry of activity including recruiting meetings and camps before coaches can get out on vacation.

This morning's staff meeting got going at 8:30am with Coach Stockstill going over several administrative items before getting caught up on the 2010 signee's enrollment status. Now recruiting coordinator Justin Watts is up on the recruiting board as the staff discusses a few hundred offensive prospects. The meeting will last most of the morning before a break for lunch. Afterward coaches will hide in their offices getting more notes and stats ready for tomorrow's recruiting meeting on defensive prospects.

The most recent addition to the Blue Raider locker room renovation is a custom made pool table complete with the MT logo brightly displayed on the playing surface...

Congrats go out to Coach Whit Turnbow and the MT Men's Golf team for their at large invitation to the NCAA golf tournament. This marks the third straight year the Blue Raiders have advanced to NCAA play.

Middle Tennessee will be one of 13 teams participating in the regional at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Washington, hosted by the University of Washington May 20-22. The low five teams from six regionals will advance to the NCAA National Championships at the Honors Course in Chattanooga, Tennessee June 1-6.

Here is the Bremerton Regional Field:
1 Washington
2 USC
3 Illinois
4 Oregon State
5 San Diego
6 Colorado State
7 Middle Tennessee
8 SMU
9 New Mexico
10 Fresno State
11 Eastern Michigan
12 VCU
13 Loyola-Maryland

The MTSU facilities staff has been working all week on transforming the Murphy Center for this Saturday's graduation ceremonies. There will be two ceremonies, one at 9am and the second at 1pm if you still need more info >>CLICK HERE

While the coaching staff is out on the road through the end of May for the spring recruiting season the administrative staff and graduate assistants are busy preparing for a blitz of three different camps in the course of 7 days beginning on May 30th. Last year's camps proved to be the most successful, attendance-wise, in Coach Stockstill's tenure and with the great 2009 season and publicity from the New Orleans Bowl Championship expectations are higher for this year. There are brochures to print and distribute, coaches to call, operational plans to be designed and facility preparations to be made so that everything runs smoothly.

Here is the full slate of 2010 Rick Stockstill Football Camps:
ELITE CAMPS
Elite Camp #1- May 30th
Elite Camp #2- June 6th

YOUTH CAMP
Youth Camp- June 1st thru June 4th

7-ON-7 CAMP
7-on-7 Passing Camp- July 18th

The staff room table is covered with thousands of Youth Camp brochures ready to send to schools...

Three Blue Raiders were recently recognized by the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame as some of the newest members of the Hampshire Honor Society. The purpose of the award is...

"The NFF's mission is to build leaders through football, and this year's Hampshire Honor Society members are living proof of that charge," said NFF Chairman Archie Manning. "Each of these young men has showcased a strong desire to succeed on and off the football field, and we are certainly proud to honor them for their accomplishments as the next generation of our nation's leaders."

Qualifications for membership in the NFF Hampshire Honor Society include:

• Being a starter or a significant substitute in one's last year of eligibility at an accredited NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, or an NAIA college or university;
• Achieving a 3.2 cumulative grade point average throughout entire course of undergraduate study; and
• Meeting all NCAA-mandated progress towards degree requirements.

The 2010-2011 Bowl Schedule has been released with some interesting changes overall. There will now be several bowl games played after the flurry of New Year's Day bowls and the BCS National Championship Game, one of those is the new Sun Belt affiliated GMAC Bowl. The Sun Belt as you may know now has two automatic bowl bids in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl and the GMAC Bowl, but the conference also has secondary tie-ins with the Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Bowl and the Little Caesers Pizza Bowl. For a complete list >>CLICK HERE

R+L Carriers New Orleans C-USA vs. Sun Belt

New Orleans Louisiana Superdome

Dec. 18 9 p.m.

ESPN

GMAC MAC vs. Sun Belt

Mobile, Ala. Ladd-Peebles Stadium

Jan. 6 8 p.m.

ESPN

Beef 'O' Brady's St. Petersburg Big East vs. C-USA

St. Petersburg, Fla. Tropicana Field

Dec. 21 8 p.m.

ESPN

Little Caesars Big Ten vs. MAC

Detroit Ford Field

Dec. 26 8:30 p.m.

ESPN

Here is a great read about the obstacles Chris McCoy has overcome on his way to a great career at Middle Tennessee and now with the Miami Dolphins...
>>CLICK HERE FOR THE ARTICLE

As you probably know Marcus Udell & Danny Carmichael spent last weekend in Seattle working out at the Seahawks mini-camp. Here are some shots of the former Blue Raiders in action thanks to a personal friend of the blog, Ben Malcolmson, who runs the official Seattle Seahawks blog.


-Danny Carmichael dons #42

- Marcus Udell looks to break up a pass in a white #42

Be on the lookout for the new 2010 Middle Tennessee Football Schedule cards at several local businesses. This year's card features Senior Cornerback Rod Issac on the cover and the 2010 schedule on the inside.

Now that classes are winding down and the players are going home for the month of May we are busying finishing the final touches on the new locker room renovation. The only tasks that are left, add furniture, pool table and finishing connecting electronics. And today the support staff checked the first to-do item off the list as the new furniture finally arrived...

NFL teams hosted Rookie Mini-Camps all over the country last weekend. As we told you early last week several Blue Raiders got the opportunity to participate in several of these camps. Here are some shots of Blue Raiders from around the league...


-Patrick Honeycutt waits to begin the drill (From Denver Post)


- Honeycutt follows Tim Tebow in a bag drill(From Denver Post)


-Chris McCoy works with the Dolphins (From Miami Herald)