** Happy with their work during camp. Brought in a number of players from the portal who have been welcomed into the program well by veterans. Players were off on Monday but excited for true game week mode beginning this morning. Excited to take on a great opponent.
** Great opportunity. A lot of Ball State players may be going against somebody they knew in high school. Playing a team in the SEC that has been so consistent week in, week out every year. Stoops has seven straight bowl games. Neu has the utmost respect for what he's built Kentucky into. It's all about execution and high level football. Must win the turnover battle and not beat themselves that way. They have a lot of confidence and will take it one play at a time.
** Stadium could be louder than what they're used to. Have to be ready with silent communication or whatever is necessary to operate. In the spring and training camp they've tried to simulate that obnoxious noise so they can focus. They've done that before and a lot of guys have played in noisy environments before.
** You get to a point in training camp where you're just sick of going against the same players. The newness from the start of training camp wears off. You flip the switch and start preparing for Kentucky, then you get scout teams involved and you're truly focusing on the game plan, building confidence in it. You shift the focus to scout team groups, you can see the smiles, attitude, intensity level and getting ready for a game. You can see that happening late last week when the focus shifted to Kentucky.
** Credits true frosh QB Kadin Semonza coming in and developing. Got a chance to go through the offseason workout program and put on 20 pounds. Remarkable job by the S&C staff. Earned reps and made it very challenging for the staff to pick a quarterback. They have a guy with four years of starting experience. But it was a dead heat in practice when they got to the midway point. Kadin knows he has to be ready to go. He's learned a lot from Layne Hatcher. Both arrived in January and Hatcher has helped him learn and study. He's a very talented thrower. Locates the ball at a high level. Had a very good foundation and football knowledge, good understanding of coverages because he played high level high school football. It's a credit to him coming in and embracing the competition, knowing there's only one starter.
** Kiael Kelly is a third type of skill set. He's going to play a lot of football for Ball State in several different roles so he could get a look at another position it sounds like. He's the runner/dual threat option at quarterback.
** Asked for the defining trait of Ball State football right now he said guys were hungry this offseason. Played in seven one possession games in the MAC last year. Ball State lost four of those games. There's a fine line between winning and losing, starting with the turnover margin. The last three games of the year they didn't get things done. Played really good opponents but they can try to fix that. Preaching ball security and QB decision making. They're hungry and know they have to be good in the details.
** On Kentucky, Neu said "if they weren't the No. 1 defense in the SEC they were No. 2." One of the best defenses in the country and they return a lot. Replacing both corners but a very good defensive team with some all conference players, some freshmen all Americans, and a great challenge. Held the national champions to 16 points. Holding opponents to 20 PPG or less. Offensively, Liam Coen is returning and was there in 2021 when they had 10 wins and scored 32 points per game. Devin Leary comes in after a great career at NC State so they did a great job in the transfer portal adding key pieces. They're familiar with the players from Northern Illinois, Cox and Rayner, so they've done as good a job as anyone in the portal. He looks at the body of work that Mark Stoops has put in. They're very consistent every year and will play well in all three phases. And they're hungry to get back to that 10 win level they were at a couple of years ago. Played against two MAC teams they're familiar with from last year so they're digging into everything to make a game plan.
** You watch game film from Kentucky, they've watched Ball State, but it's still a new year with a new team. Focus on your strengths. What do you do well offensively, defensively, on special teams? To go into this environment you have to hang your hat on something so they have confidence and believe. It's a lot about Kentucky but it's also about Ball State's strengths.
** LB Clayton Coll, TE Brady Hunt, and DE Tavion Woodard are day to day. They've been on the practice field and are committed to the treatment process. They don't want to risk a longer term injury to one of those guys. But the players behind them will be ready if their number is called.
** Everybody talks about Ball State's two corners and safety (one drafted, two signed) but they also returned some guys. One long term player and one part time starter from last year. They added an experienced player who has picked up the playbook well. They have some returning players and transfers who have extensive college game experience. Feel good about the depth chart in their secondary compared to what people outside the building probably think.
** Proud of his receivers who were new additions to the program who picked things up quickly and did good things on the practice field. Good rapport with the quarterback group overall.
LB CLAYTON COLL AT THE PODIUM
** Excited to travel down to Kentucky and face players other than the guys on their team.
** Coll says they've worked on understanding Liam Coen. They're going to try to run the ball on us. "They've made that very clear" with what they want to do. They take pride in their offensive line. Have a pretty good RB out of Vanderbilt. They'll take deep shots for explosive plays. Must be gap sound up front and disciplined on the back end.
** Great opportunity. A lot of Ball State players may be going against somebody they knew in high school. Playing a team in the SEC that has been so consistent week in, week out every year. Stoops has seven straight bowl games. Neu has the utmost respect for what he's built Kentucky into. It's all about execution and high level football. Must win the turnover battle and not beat themselves that way. They have a lot of confidence and will take it one play at a time.
** Stadium could be louder than what they're used to. Have to be ready with silent communication or whatever is necessary to operate. In the spring and training camp they've tried to simulate that obnoxious noise so they can focus. They've done that before and a lot of guys have played in noisy environments before.
** You get to a point in training camp where you're just sick of going against the same players. The newness from the start of training camp wears off. You flip the switch and start preparing for Kentucky, then you get scout teams involved and you're truly focusing on the game plan, building confidence in it. You shift the focus to scout team groups, you can see the smiles, attitude, intensity level and getting ready for a game. You can see that happening late last week when the focus shifted to Kentucky.
** Credits true frosh QB Kadin Semonza coming in and developing. Got a chance to go through the offseason workout program and put on 20 pounds. Remarkable job by the S&C staff. Earned reps and made it very challenging for the staff to pick a quarterback. They have a guy with four years of starting experience. But it was a dead heat in practice when they got to the midway point. Kadin knows he has to be ready to go. He's learned a lot from Layne Hatcher. Both arrived in January and Hatcher has helped him learn and study. He's a very talented thrower. Locates the ball at a high level. Had a very good foundation and football knowledge, good understanding of coverages because he played high level high school football. It's a credit to him coming in and embracing the competition, knowing there's only one starter.
** Kiael Kelly is a third type of skill set. He's going to play a lot of football for Ball State in several different roles so he could get a look at another position it sounds like. He's the runner/dual threat option at quarterback.
** Asked for the defining trait of Ball State football right now he said guys were hungry this offseason. Played in seven one possession games in the MAC last year. Ball State lost four of those games. There's a fine line between winning and losing, starting with the turnover margin. The last three games of the year they didn't get things done. Played really good opponents but they can try to fix that. Preaching ball security and QB decision making. They're hungry and know they have to be good in the details.
** On Kentucky, Neu said "if they weren't the No. 1 defense in the SEC they were No. 2." One of the best defenses in the country and they return a lot. Replacing both corners but a very good defensive team with some all conference players, some freshmen all Americans, and a great challenge. Held the national champions to 16 points. Holding opponents to 20 PPG or less. Offensively, Liam Coen is returning and was there in 2021 when they had 10 wins and scored 32 points per game. Devin Leary comes in after a great career at NC State so they did a great job in the transfer portal adding key pieces. They're familiar with the players from Northern Illinois, Cox and Rayner, so they've done as good a job as anyone in the portal. He looks at the body of work that Mark Stoops has put in. They're very consistent every year and will play well in all three phases. And they're hungry to get back to that 10 win level they were at a couple of years ago. Played against two MAC teams they're familiar with from last year so they're digging into everything to make a game plan.
** You watch game film from Kentucky, they've watched Ball State, but it's still a new year with a new team. Focus on your strengths. What do you do well offensively, defensively, on special teams? To go into this environment you have to hang your hat on something so they have confidence and believe. It's a lot about Kentucky but it's also about Ball State's strengths.
** LB Clayton Coll, TE Brady Hunt, and DE Tavion Woodard are day to day. They've been on the practice field and are committed to the treatment process. They don't want to risk a longer term injury to one of those guys. But the players behind them will be ready if their number is called.
** Everybody talks about Ball State's two corners and safety (one drafted, two signed) but they also returned some guys. One long term player and one part time starter from last year. They added an experienced player who has picked up the playbook well. They have some returning players and transfers who have extensive college game experience. Feel good about the depth chart in their secondary compared to what people outside the building probably think.
** Proud of his receivers who were new additions to the program who picked things up quickly and did good things on the practice field. Good rapport with the quarterback group overall.
LB CLAYTON COLL AT THE PODIUM
** Excited to travel down to Kentucky and face players other than the guys on their team.
** Coll says they've worked on understanding Liam Coen. They're going to try to run the ball on us. "They've made that very clear" with what they want to do. They take pride in their offensive line. Have a pretty good RB out of Vanderbilt. They'll take deep shots for explosive plays. Must be gap sound up front and disciplined on the back end.
