It’s game week, ladies and gentleman.
All four local CAA teams kick off this weekend, with Bryant and UNH opening Thursday night, Maine opening Friday night and URI hosting Holy Cross on Saturday night.
Each Monday throughout the regular season (and postseason if teams make it), all 16 coaches in the conference meet with the media via Zoom. So, we’ll be recapping these calls each week with some of the most important quotes.
Here’s what stood out from Bryant’s Chris Merritt, Maine’s Jordan Stevens, UNH’s Rick Santos and URI’s Jim Fleming:
BRYANT – Merritt
On how fall camp went & if he feels good about where the Bulldogs are at heading into opening night
“Yeah, we’ve had a solid fall camp. A lot of new faces out there, no question. Half of our football team’s brand new. We’ve taken this time to kind of develop our own identity a little bit and kind of get our culture going, but we’re ready to go.”
On the toughest part of blending new players in with players already in the program
“It’s probably harder now than it’s ever been because of the percentage of players. You know, when 50% of your team is returning, they know how things are expected to be done. We’ve told every transfer that comes in and every freshman that comes in ‘it’s your job to adapt to our culture, not for us to adapt to you.’ Little bit tougher when it’s a 50-50 break up right now, so to get those returning players to say ‘hey guys, this is how we do things here, this is our culture, this is how we practice…’ everything from not just what we run schematically on both sides of the ball, but how we practice keeping each other up…everybody comes from different backgrounds and has different ways of doing things. Getting everybody on the same page has taken a little bit longer with this group than in the past, but I see why. Half our team is brand new.”
On Delaware’s defense and what they do that will make life difficult offensively on Thursday night
“I think their D-line is as physical and as deep as they come. I think those guys are stout. They’re going to be hard to move on the line of scrimmage because of their structure and the odd front they play and the three-high safeties, it’s going to require us to have great eye discipline in terms of all the movement and stunting that could go on. Having the eye discipline to realize who is going to be there in front of you, it isn’t going to be the same guy every time. So, they create a bunch of chaos for most offenses and schemes. They’re talented across the board.”
MAINE – Stevens
On fall camp and if he’s happy with the team’s progress
“Yeah, I thought fall camp was very productive for us. We stayed healthy for the most part. We have a few injuries that we expect guys coming back…they might not be with us Game 1, but they will be returning. It was a competitive, competitive camp with some back and forth, probably the most I’ve seen since I’ve been here. That was really good to see as well. The progress we’ve made and the sense of urgency has really been seen throughout training camp. We kind of transitioned last week from camp to getting going on our opponent Colgate. This week we’re obviously full force into that. It’s good to have an opponent out in front of us and something to work towards.”
On the difficulty of preparing for a Friday game and what he’s hoping to see from the home crowd
“It’s good to get on to an opponent after being in camp for three or four weeks. That transition, the players have really been anticipating…it’s not so much a short week because we’ve planned it out and been ahead a little bit (progress wise). We’re excited to play on a Friday night at home. It’s the first day all the students arrive here at the University of Maine, so I’m expecting a big crowd, expecting a great environment here at Alfond Stadium. Really excited to kick it off here at home.”
On the challenges Colgate presents
“This is a team that went 6-1 in its last seven games last year. It’s really impressive to see how they’ve come together, how hard they play and their toughness. To go on that run is just really impressive. Certainly, they feel like they have some momentum going into their offseason and into this year. Starting at the quarterback, it’s a guy we saw up here in 20222…it’s someone we know we’ve got to defend and do a great job against him. He’s a big QB that can throw the ball well and he can run the ball. We have a lot of respect for this program and Colgate and what they’ve been able to do. We expect to get their best and it’ll be a tough game here at home.”
UNH – Santos
On fall camp and where the Wildcats are at
“For us, it was just back to basics. Try to become the best version of ourselves and future out which guys are going to make the trip down to UCF. I love the veteran presence right now. I love the leadership that we have on the team and I thought the guys that we expect to have really big years have stepped up and have been playing high level ball.”
On replacing Max Brosmer at quarterback with Seth Morgan
“When we were looking through the recruiting process and in the transfer portal midway through last year, Seth was one of the most productive guys in there. He had over 9,000 yards of offense at two different schools. He proved he can do it at a high level being Rookie of the Year and then playing on a team that made the playoffs, so I think he’s poised. I think he’s been productive I think the biggest thing is just getting integrated with a new roster. Three teams in three years. From a leadership standpoint is where I think he’s taken strides in the right direction through the summer…I love where he’s at. I think he’s a smart guy. He’s cerebral. He sees the field. He can throw people open. He’s athletic enough where he can be evasive in the pocket, but also, I think he wants to stand in there and deliver. He has the ability and the courage to make some tough throws, so we’re really excited to see how he progresses.”
On the mindset facing an FBS opponent
“The message I gave the guys this morning at practice was: first and foremost, you need to handle your emotions early in this game. I think it’s going to be an incredible venue. They nicknamed it ‘The Bounce House’ for a reason. The student section is going to be off the charts. It’s one of the best home field advantages in the country. Managing your emotions – I think initially you need to withstand their charge – it’s easy to get down early in these games. Obviously, it’s their home opener. They’re going to be fired up. They want to get off to a fast start. I think it’s the longer you can hang in these games, the more pressure is then going to be flipped on the other side of it. Obviously, with (a game) of this magnitude, everybody in the country expects us to lose. So, I think that’s a great place to be. It’s truly us against the world. It’s an underdog mentality. Then, any success we have in this game, I think that’s going to garner really well for us once we get back into FCS play. Cut it loose. Have fun. All the pressure’s on them. We can take a lot of really good teachable moments from this game.”
URI – Fleming
On putting a latter grade on training camp
“My expectations are always very high, but I’d give it a solid ‘B’ camp. I don’t give out a lot of ‘A’s’ and it definitely wasn’t a ‘C,’ so I guess B’s are pretty good. There were moments. Obviously, you have ups and downs just like in a game, but I really did feel like the intent and the effort level was good. Our capturing and understanding of schemes continued to improve, particularly with a number of new guys we brought in during the spring.”
On the difficulty of blending new and old players
“I think it really comes down to the stability and the foundation of your football program. Our culture has been set and it’s been growing for over 10 years. Our kids here know how we operate, know what’s expected. So, a lot of it is player-led. Obviously, I review all the different pieces that are important to us as a football program, but the kids have really embraced everybody that we’ve brought in here with open arms. Everybody’s that’s come on in have been really high-character dudes and really fit right into the fabric of our football team. So, it’s not overly hard as long as you’ve got good kids leading the way, which I do.”
On the difficulties Holy Cross will present
“You look at the personnel at Holy Cross and then you realize it’s a program led by a different person. So, schematically, we’re scouting different coordinators and not necessarily last year’s tape. We’re trying to make sure that we have our best idea of what they’re going to do, but knowing Coach Curran, knowing that Holy Cross has been a hard-nosed group, their flavor won’t change a whole bunch. They’ve got three good backs that can pound the rock and they seem to be very physical up front. QB can throw it, he’s been waiting in the wings for quite some time and defensively, they run around and hit. They play extremely hard and they’re worthy of their reputation. We’re going to have our hands full. We’re going to have to play very solid in all three phases to win the game.”