Football Media Day - (video)
The University of Dayton football team changed up its normal preseason camp routine over the weekend by holding an open scrimmage Saturday evening and its annual Media/Picture Day on Sunday.
Saturday's scrimmage was part of a larger event held at the University of Dayton Arena. The fall semester begins on Wednesday, and the entire Flyer freshman class and their families were at the Arena Saturday afternoon for the keynote address, including a welcome from University President Dr. Dan Curran.
The program continued with activities at Welcome Stadium and the Arena, and after UD head football coach addressed the crowd, welcoming the freshmen and reminding them "that no matter where you come from, you're all Flyers now," the final part of the program was a back-to-back football scrimmage. A small video tower was brought to midfield, and Dayton first and second units scrimmaged between the 40-yard line and the goal line on one half of the field, and the remainder of the team did the same on one half of the field.
The back-to-back scrimmage was completely scripted, with down and distance predetermined for every play. As would be expected by the number of starters returning on both units (seven defensive starters are back from the PFL's top unit, and four offensive starters return), the defense had the upper hand on the upper-class side of the scrimmage, but by no means was the action one-sided. At the other side of the 50, play was more even.
Sunday afternoon, the team returned to Welcome Stadium for its annual Media Day. After the team photo was taken, interviews and individual photos were conducted on the field, followed by a cookout hosted by the Flyers Club for the team.
The weekend was a well-deserved break in routine for the Dayton football team, but the Flyers have a busy week ahead of them, with two-a-days continuing Monday and Tuesday, and classes beginning on Wednesday. UD opens the season on Saturday, September 12 at Welcome Stadium against Urbana. Game time is 1:00 p.m. ET.
Media Day Quotes
Rick Chamberlin
On Saturday's Scrimmage...
"In our scrimmage on Saturday, we wanted to put our players in certain situations to prepare them for the season. We also wanted to see how they could perform, and we also wanted to get them familiar with the overtime format. Overall, I thought it went well last night. Timmy Fogarty started out slow, but came along as the night progressed. That was a great sign to see especially against a tough defense like ours."
Kalen Hemmelgarn
On training camp...
"Camp is going really well for us. There is a lot of competition and our offense and defense are working hard. It has been great to get back into it."
Steve Valentino
On his expectations for the season...
"We're hoping to have another good year. There is a lot of talent coming back. Obviously, our first goal is to win the PFL Championship."
On training camp...
"Camp has been very good. There have been some hot days out there, but we have a lot of young talent and a talented freshman class."
Drew Fumagalli
On this season's expectations...
"Every year we have high expectations for ourselves and this year is no different. We feel like we have a good team and we have a lot of talented players back."
On training camp...
"Training camp is a little different this year, because we have an extra week to prepare. We went into full pads just recently, and the extra time will allow us to prepare for the season better."
Sean Heenan
On training camp... "This year's camp is especially tough. The new players have come in working hard to earn a spot, and the veterans have worked just as hard. No one is complacent and each of us is working hard to earn our spots this fall."
On the new jersey...
"I love our new jerseys. They are definitely a welcome change."
Justin Millio
On his expectations for 2009...
"Our expectations are high after a bittersweet finish last season. It will be good to see what we can do this season. Our goal is to get back to where we were in 2007."
Kevin Burns
On training camp...
"The preseason is going well, with an extra week of preseason it feels a little different. But we are getting after it and we are looking forward to starting the season."
On the expectations for the season..
"We always want to be the best. Obviously, with that we will want to play our best, but we will also need to stay healthy."
On the new jerseys...
"I love how they look, they are definitely an improvement."
