2009 Southland Conference Football Media Day Quotes
Central Arkansas Head Coach Clint Conque
On Momentum from the 10-2 Season
“We certainly carried a lot of momentum and a lot of energy into recruiting and the offseason. We feel like we recruited as well athletically as we have. The offseason went very smoothly and in the summer program, we feel like we hit a home run, as far as attitude, participation and work ethic.”
On Strength of Defense
“On paper, we have nine starters back, plus our nose guard (Uriah Perry) who started 11 games in 2007. We have a lot of depth, a lot of athleticism and a lot of experience. I think we have a chance over there. Of course, the offenses in this league are extremely prolific and productive, so if you’re going to compete for championships, you have to play defense. It’s going to be very important that we compete at a high level on the defensive side, create short fields, more scoring opportunities, while our offense can get some continuity and confidence. Our defense is going to need to be a cornerstone for us to have success, from the beginning to the end.
On Offensive Holes to Fill
“Experience up front is hard to come by and starters Brad Gordon and Jeremy Ford started a bunch of games for us. And Boomer Cunningham played an awful lot all along the offensive line. We have some questions to answer, some holes to fill in that area, but we think we have some guys who can come in and compete and fill those holes.”
Senior Defensive End Larry Hart
“We have great chemistry and great experience on the defensive side and we’re expecting big things again. We have a lot of senior leadership on defense and a lot of competition. We have a lot of good players so expectations are high. We have had a great offseason and are excited about what we can do this year.”
“We will definitely step up and help take some pressure off the offense early since they are not quite as experienced as we are on defense. But regardless, our expectations won’t change. We feel like if teams don’t score, they can’t win, so we’re definitely going to try to put the clamps down. Whether the offense is scoring or not, we still have to do our job. We don’t have any problem doing that.”
“We’re excited about what we did last year and it’s definitely carried over. We have 95 percent of our team here for summer workouts and our guys are really excited and pumped up. We have high expectations to come out and do just as well as we did last year.”
Senior Offensive Tackle Lane Freiwald
“We’re a little less experienced (on offense) but we’re still excited going into the season. We have three senior offensive linemen, three senior running backs, some great skill players with experience. We lost a lot of guys on offense but we still have the quality players for us to still have a great offense.”
“I hope the defense can be as dominant as we think it can be. For them to be able to take a couple of points off the board for us would be great.”
“I think winning last year has motivated us even more for this season. We’ve been there before and we know what it’s like to be winners. It kind of fuels you going into the next season, to try to repeat and try to be there at the end again.”
“It’s all about hard work and dedication, those are always the keys. Our experience will help, but the hard work and dedication will be what makes it another great season.”