SFA Makes Its Mark at 2015 SLC Media Day
7/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
LAKE CHARLES, La. - Stephen F. Austin took its turn at the 2015 Southland Conference Media Day at L'auberge Resort in Lake Charles, previewing the upcoming football season. Head coach Clint Conque, junior quarterback Zach Conque and senior defensive tackle Lance Skyler represented the Lumberjacks as all 11 football schools participated.
Beginning with the kickoff luncheon, SFA's presence was felt as Kevin Gore, the sports editor of the Daily Sentinel, was recognized as the 2015 Southland Conference Louis Bonnette Sports Media Award winner. Gore has covered SFA Athletics for over 30 years, earning multiple awards and honors.
The day progressed with SFA finally getting its chance to answer questions to SLC media representatives at 3 p.m. The Lumberjacks then filmed segments for the 2015 SLC Football Preview Show, which will air tonight at 7 p.m. on ESPN3. Coach Conque and the players also filmed promotional material to be used in SLC television broadcasts throughout the summer.
The event concluded with interviews with local and regional media outlets, including putting Conque and Skylar to the test as to how well they know each other, to which the duo didn't fare too badly.
The event marks the unofficial kickoff to the 2015 football season as SFA prepares to report to fall camp on August 9th. The Lumberjacks kick off the 2015 campaign at home in a Battle of Lumberjacks, facing Northern Arizona at 6 p.m. on Saturday, September 5th at Homer Bryce Stadium.
SFA Southland Conference Media Day Transcript
Head Coach Clint Conque
On replacing Gus Johnson:
“We feel we’ve got three quality backs that will be running the football for us this year. Junior Joshawa West has been solid, and really had a breakout freshman season two years ago. Fred Ford has been with the program for five years now and has that experience, and Cameron Washington has had some spots as well this last year. You could also see a true freshman step into that role as well. Obviously Gus has been a big part of the running game for the last four years, but those gentlemen have positioned themselves to step up. When one door closes, another opens, and its their time to take advantage of that opportunity.”
On what is needed to take the next step after a playoff appearance:
“We need to get a home game. When you have to travel in the postseason, something that we were blessed with the opportunity to do last year, its such a huge disadvantage. It makes for a short week, and we went into one of the most difficult places in the country in the UNI Dome to face a team that knocked off both North Dakota State and Illinois State (the two teams that met in the FCS Championship game). Our body of work needs to be a little bit better. We need to finish games a little bit better.”
On SFA’s schedule:
“Our schedule is very difficult this year. We’ve got what is perceived as the contenders in the conference, all of them except McNeese State on the road. I was the one that cast the lone first place vote for Central Arkansas because they’ve got all the contenders coming to their place this year. That’s a huge deal. The secret to being successful in this league is to win your home games and find a way to steal a couple on the road. We did that last year, and that will be the key this year. We’ve got to go into some very difficult environments.”
On his concerns about the team:
“Well that is really two-fold. The first of which, as I mentioned, is our schedule. We’ve got to go to Hammond, to Conway, to Abilene, to Natchitoches, and then face Sam Houston down at NRG. Those are some pretty long road trips to some of the most hostile environments in the conference. We will have to make sure our maturity level is where it needs to be. The second is keeping our team healthy, and that keeps me up at night. We will start fall camp probably later than anybody else in the country. Our classes don’t start until August 31st, so we won’t report to camp until August 9th. We all have the same practice opportunities, but ours is going to be condensed into a week’s less time in the calendar, meaning we have to have more practices in a shorter period of time, which opens yourself up to injuries. For us to be the best team that we can be, we need to gel quickly and keep our best players healthy, and then fire on all cylinders out of the gate.”
On the 11-game schedule:
“We’ve got an 11-game schedule versus a 12-game schedule. I’m very hopeful that we can do some things as a conference to move an agenda forward to battle this autonomy, which is the big word in college football these days. Give us the ability to play 12 games, even if that means we have to give up an open week. These players work just as hard as the FBS players and we want to have the option to play 12 games. In a perfect world, before conference play starts, you can have your “money” game against an FBS school, a home-and-home against an FCS opponent from another conference, and then a lower level school to tune you up for the conference schedule. We were fortunate to have that last year with the 12 game schedule, but we can’t do that with an 11-game schedule. Hopefully we can exercise some of that autonomy and play a 12-game schedule. It will be 2019 before we go back to a 12-game schedule, which is an entire recruiting cycle of players to come through your program.”
On if he would style his hair like Zach if he was able:
“Absolutely, unequivocably, without question, no. It was actually sticking straight up this morning but its kind of settled down now. I’d probably be more like Lance – nice and tight. I use to have full hair and I miss it.”
Quarterback Zach Conque
On offseason focus:
“The big focus this offseason has really just been on working hard and finishing what we started last year. We had a great season last year with eight wins and exceeded a lot of expectations, but this year we want to go a little further and continue that tradition.”
On how the offense will be different without Gus Johnson:
“Obviously losing a guy like Gus, who was a three-time first team All-American, it hurts, especially when you consider how much of the offense he was responsible for. We know its going to be a big challenge, but we have all five offensive linemen coming back, which is huge. Experience is everything, especially in the run game, and I know I’m going to have to take a larger burden on myself, which is going to force me to be a better quarterback and a better player. I had a good season last year, but it’s time to take that next step.”
On his goals for the season:
“I want to be more of a leader. Growing up around UCA great Nathan Brown, I’ve tried to pattern my game after him. He worked incredibly hard day in and day out, and that is an attitude I’ve tried to embrace. As far as goals, I don’t have many individual ones. My goals are the collective team goals. I want to win our home opener, I want to keep the Chief (Caddo) in Nac and I want to pull one out down at the Piney Woods. Obviously after that we want to win conference and make a run in the playoffs.”
On the game against McNeese State in 2014:
“It did a lot for my confidence. We knew going in that their game plan was going to be to stop Gus and our running game, and they had been one of the best in the conference all year at stopping the run. All week in practice, I knew if we were going to win that game we’d have to do it through the air. That was probably the point of the season where the game started to slow down for me and things started coming natural.”
Defensive Tackle Lance Skyler
On the offseason workouts:
“It’s been really good and productive. We’ve stayed together as a team and really had a chance to build that chemistry with each other. Our coaches have really pushed us and I’m excited. Hopefully we can surprise a few more teams this season.”
On the experience of the defensive line:
“It’s a very experienced group. Up front we’ve got Donald Bryant and Shayvion Hatten, who like myself are all seniors. They’re great players and great teammates. On the edge, Kedrick Harrison is going to be a phenomenal defensive end for this team. On the other side it will be a good battle between John Franklin and Mitchell Zimmerle, who are young but very good and hungry. The guys that come in behind are phenomenal as well and will continue to get better. I think it all starts with our attitude as we want to be the heart of our defense and be that unit the rest of the team relies on. Once we get rolling, we can set the tempo up front.”
-SFA-
