Aug. 26, 2008

(2:03 p.m.): First weekly news conference of the season, so that’s always (semi-) exciting. Yes, there was some news, but first, a brief aside. I wasn’t sure whether I should eat my sandwich beforehand and try to scarf it down before the news conference (you’ve gotta bring along some gum too, because you don’t want to assail your interview subjects with tuna salad breath. That’s just bad form), or if I should just wait and eat afterward (which would then delay getting this blog on the Interweb).

Well, it took some time before BK, Dustin Grutza and DeAngelo Smith were ready, so I decided to eat. Then, of course, 30 seconds later, they were ready to begin. So I end up scarfing the food and asking questions in between bites. I’m sure it looked very professional.

ANYWAY, onto the news of the day.

DT Adam Hoppel and SS Cedric Tolbert were cleared to play by the UC medical staff this morning, and BK said he’d like to get them in for 15-20 snaps apiece.

“As I told our coaches: if they’re cleared and able to perform – even if it’s 15-20 plays – I want them to play,” BK said. “The next week, I’d like them to play 30 or 40 plays. It’s hard to jump to 30 to 40 plays if you play zero in the first week. I expect them to play.”

For now, Hoppel stands behind Ricardo Matthews on the depth chart, and Tolbert is the No. 1 strong safety. Later on, I asked BK if he expected Tolbert to start.

“(Defensive coordinator) Joe Tresey wants to see him today in our 2-mintue drill and see how he moves laterally,” BK said. “If he moves laterally well, he can probably start him. If he’s still a little uncertain, we’ll get him in the flow of the game but we probably won’t start him.”

Among the candidates to replace him if Tolbert doesn’t start: Aaron Webster, Brad Jones and Drew Frey.

I asked Smith if he was concerned that the suspended Terrill Byrd and possibly Hoppel wouldn’t be in there against the Colonels. Especially considering the secondary depended so much on last year’s defensive line to grab all those interceptions.

“It does, but it doesn’t,” he said. “You know the next man in is just as reliable as those two. We’ll rely on them to play the position … It tells us that the next man in that comes to replace Byrd and Hoppel, they’re going to have to play as fast as Byrd and Hoppel do.”

Speaking of injuries, not much of an update on freshman WR D.J. Woods.

“We keep moving in the proper direction,” BK said. “That’s something that’s going to go right up to gametime. We feel optimistic he’ll play.”

Another aside: two readers have e-mailed katzonthecats.com, who also have Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP) and have offered their support and help to Woods. I guess that means at least two blog readers are kind-hearted souls. It’s at least one more than I imagined.

Seriously, thanks again guys.

Without prompting, BK threw his support behind Grutza, and really for the first time that I can remember, it wasn’t a read-between-the-lines kind of moment where you weren’t sure if BK was all that comfortable starting Grutza. Today, BK made it pretty clear Grutza is his man.

“I’m excited to see Dustin Grutza start and give him an opportunity to lead our football team,” BK said. “Last year, Ben Mauk had that opportunity and he made the best of it. Dustin didn’t get that opportunity. He has that opportunity this year, and I think everybody is excited about him getting that opportunity and running with it with similar success.”

BK did say that Mauk was funnier than Grutza during team meetings, but that might have been because Grutza was in attendance at the presser.

BK was also asked about the attendance for Thursday’s game and if increasing the people at Nippert was a priority this year. One UC official said he thought there might be 20,000-plus for Eastern Kentucky.

“I really don’t care at this point,” BK said. “It’s not an issue for me. Here’s what I know; if you play winning football in Cincinnati, they’ll come out and support you. All my focus is putting an exciting football team on the field and winning. I really don’t care what the numbers are.”

Later, he said:

“Maybe I should back off that comment. It’s not that I don’t care; it’s not a priority to me any more. I’ve seen how this town will embrace a successful program. I already know. I can kind of move that to the side. My focus is strictly on putting a consistent winner on the field.”