Coach Stockstill stood in front of the media on Monday morning, looking confident and happy, glowing with the excitement of a new season.
Words like “exciting time” and “pleased with progress” were used often. Coach Stockstill spoke glowingly of this team’s effort during the spring and summer, it’s ability to overcome key injuries and adversity. Coach said he “Loved the closeness of this team” and used the word “closeknit” to describe them.
Even later when starting QB Brent Stockstill stepped to the mic he would talk of being “comfortable” with his teammates and called the O-Line his “Best Friends”
This is our first year to cover MTSU athletics, but already , it feels like family.
“We’ll Worry About Us, And What We Can Control”
Coach Stockstill doesn’t know much about Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs are out of Huntsville, Alabama and compete in the SouthWestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They won 3 games last year. But as Coach Stock said “That was last year” .
They are returning 15 starters from last year mostly on defense. That defense is led by Bryan Brower a Junior LB who led the team with 49 tackles and 27 assists last year. The offense returns 3 starters but , they are all of A&M’s scoring last year. QB “Tuttie” Ballard is a Sr.dual threat RB who threw for 9 TDs and ran for 4 more. Both of last years targets return in 2 Bulldog seniors . Tevin Mckenzie caught 4 TDs and Johnathan Dorsey caught 5.
Coach Stockstill said there are two new defensive coaches for A&M and they are probably going to go more of a hybrid 3-4 instead of last year’s 4-2-5 as they transition to the new coaching staff. As Coach said these are the “unknowns”.
“Don’t Judge By Numbers”
Coach wasn’t talking about wins and losses. It was his response to a question about how to temper son Brent’s, and even guys like Richie James , and maybe the media’s expectations this year.
“Don’t judge by numbers. It’s unfair. To compare one year to the next by stats is not fair to the player. We just want our kids and expect our kids to 1) Play within the system 2)Do your job 3)Put us in the position to win”– Coach Stockstill
Quick Quotes:
“Pleased with the guys who are playing every snap. Now time to see how the leadership on the field develops”- Coach Stockstill
“Very Smart” “Hard Worker” “Tough” “Knows How To Win” — Words used by Coach and QB Brent Stockstill to describe true Freshman WR Ty Lee.
“Improving” “Expecting improvement”– Coach answering questions on Special Teams
“Physical” “Smart” “Experienced” — Description of defensive front seven
“Either you contain the QB, or you make him pay if he comes out of the pocket. Period.” — DJ Sanders Junior LB
Kickoff is 6:00 p.m. at Floyd Field. #TrueBlue #BoltUp follow us the rest of the week @RutherfordSRCE !
