Miami Ohio University Athletics
Fall Camps Winds Down for RedHawk Football
8/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 20, 2003
OXFORD, Ohio-With its season-opening kickoff at the University of Iowa just nine days away, Miami University's football team continues to make progress, as evidenced by strong showings on both sides of the ball in a Wednesday morning scrimmage. Following are comments by Miami head coach Terry Hoeppner, offensive coordinator Shane Montgomery and defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi, following the scrimmage, which consisted of close to 100 plays.
Head Coach Terry Hoeppner
"I'm very happy with the progress the team has made. We did a morning scrimmage because we're going to be playing in the morning against Iowa. It was pretty hot, but we got close to 100 snaps in, and I think the guys held up pretty well. We challenged the team today and really put them in a lot of situations to see how they would react."
"Coach Schembechler used to say that your greatest improvement comes between the first and second game. I think the same goes for the first and second scrimmage. There was definite improvement on both sides of the ball today. The execution on the offensive side of the ball was good, and they had to execute well to succeed against our defense, which was making a lot of big plays."
"There were some young guys who really caught our eye today. I told the guys today that there are only 66 seats on that plane that leaves for Iowa next week and a few guys earned seats on that plane today. Of course, I also told them that just because they're on the plane doesn't mean they'll stay there. We told them at the beginning of camp that they were going to get the opportunity to prove themselves, and we're going to reward the guys that do."
Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery
"We're at a point now where our offense is mostly in and we're getting a lot of repetition. The guys are probably getting the feeling that they're running the same plays over and over again, but I keep telling them that repetition makes a good offense. We'll be adding a few more wrinkles as the season progresses, but we're pretty well set."
"We've got three wide receivers back with a lot of experience, but we've also got four or five younger guys that we have to get ready to play. It's the fastest and most talented group of receivers we've had, but they are a little short on experience. They seem to be learning fast, and I think they'll definitely be able to help us this season."
"We gave the defense a lot of looks today and did a lot of things well. No matter what, we have to be able to make big plays to win football games. We've got the athletes who can make those type of plays and that was demonstrated several times today."
Defensive Coordinator Pat Narduzzi
"I thought our tackling was solid today, especially in the secondary. The whole scrimmage was at a different tempo than the last one, and we weren't as crisp as I'd like to see. The guys are probably a little tired, as they should be at this point, but it was a good scrimmage."
"We got our first look at some of the things Iowa is going to run at us today, and I think it was good for the guys to get to recognize some different plays and looks from the other side of the ball. We've got the defense almost entirely in, and now we can start narrowing down the playbook for what we're going to use against the Hawkeyes. The guys are ready to start hitting someone else."
