Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh holds first football luncheon of 2008
9/3/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh held its first football luncheon of the 2008 season on Wednesday afternoon at the Copperhead Grille on Airport Road in Allentown. Mountain Hawks head coach Andy Coen was joined by senior captains Brendan Van Ackeren and Matt McGowan as the trio previewed this weekend’s season opener versus Drake University at Goodman Stadium.
Below is the transcript from Wednesday’s luncheon. Video highlights can be viewed by clicking on the link at the bottom of the page.
LEHIGH HEAD COACH ANDY COEN
On starting the season on Saturday: “We’ll be excited to play. We’ve got 94 or 95 guys that will be revving to go, and they’ll be very much looking forward to hitting somebody else. We’ve been running into each other for about four weeks, and I’m getting tired of just looking at these guys. I want to see somebody else as well.”
On potentially playing in the rain: “Rain is one of those things you can’t have any control over. If it does rain heavy, both teams will have to deal with it. I think the most important thing for us as a football team going into the first game, whether it’s raining or bright and sunny, we have to worry about Lehigh first. We have to protect the football, we have to try to create some turnovers, we have to execute in all three phases of the game. If we do that then I think we’ll have a great chance to be successful.”
On J.B. Clark getting his first career start at quarterback: “If you watched any college football over the weekend, you saw a lot of quarterbacks getting the opportunity to be the starter for the first time. Some guys struggled and came back and had some very solid games, some guys kind of struggled the whole game. I think playing the quarterback position is the hardest position to play in all of sports, particularly in this era of professional and college football. So, there are going to be some mistakes, whether it’s by a proven player, or like J.B.’s case, a first-year starter. I think it’s going to be important for us to keep a nice balance, to be able to run the ball effectively and don’t put him in too many long-yardage situations where he feels like he has to win the game. I think he’s a very talented young man and he’s a very poised young man, and obviously we selected him to be the starter because we have all the confidence that he’ll be a great leader for this football team.”
On Drake’s passing game: “Last week they actually threw the ball quite a bit more than they ran it. Coach (Chris) Creighton came from Wabash College, and they were about a 60-40 pass to run offense at Wabash. I’m assuming they’ll be very similar. I would think they’d want to try to spread the field because they’re a zone running team.”
On the new play clock rules: “It worked pretty seamless for us at our scrimmages. I think the games are going to be a little faster. The one big change is when a play goes out of bounds in the old system the game clock didn’t start until the ball was snapped. Now the clock will start as soon as they place the ball back and it’s ready to play. So it’s kind of a hybrid between college football and NFL football. As I watched a lot of games over the weekend that was the one thing I really tried to see how teams were handling it. I think it went pretty smoothly, so I’m hoping it’s not a major impact, but I think we’ll see maybe eight to 10 fewer plays a game.”
LEHIGH SENIOR RUNNING BACK MATT MCGOWAN
On dealing with injuries last season: “Last year was definitely frustrating for me having to sit on the sideline so many games. I finally got to full strength and I’m really excited to get going on Saturday.”
On finishing up preseason camp: “Of course I’m glad it’s over, but it was very productive. I feel like we got a lot of work done. Things were a little bit easier this year because we had a lot less injuries in preseason camp. So it was a very productive camp and the team looks really strong.”
LEHIGH SENIOR DEFENSIVE BACK BRENDAN VAN ACKEREN
On how the defense looks so far: “Defensively we are very confident. We have just about everyone back in the front seven, and I feel like that’s the strength of our team. In the secondary, we have a couple of young guys back there, so we lack some experience. We feel like in practice people are making plays and guys know their assignments, and back there (in the secondary), we’re confident feeling like we’re going to surprise some people.”
On the importance of a good start: “I think it’s definitely important. This is a new year and this is a new team with a new mindset. I know last season dropping the home opener put a sour taste in our mouth for the rest of the schedule. So this year we’re definitely looking to open up the season on the right note.“
The Lehigh Football luncheons are held every Wednesday at the Copperhead Grille on Airport Road in Allentown from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM. Cost of the all-you-can-buffet lunch is $12 (not including gratuity).
Lehigh kicks off its 2008 season on Saturday, September 6 versus Drake at Goodman Stadium. New this season, all Lehigh home games will begin at 12:30. Tickets are still available and can be purchased in one of three ways: by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office, located in Grace Hall between the hours of 10 and 4, or by logging onto Lehighsports.com.
