This weekend we head to Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks. This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools and I am happy to be a part of it. The atmosphere should be tremendous and I believe our players will feed off its energy. The staff and I have worked hard to get the players to play with great enthusiasm and emotion each and every snap. By doing so, the players will begin to trust not only their teammates but also themselves. We have seen this from our players the last few games and they continue to improve. We have been very fortunate to have some of our young players step up and take on a greater role then they may have anticipated.
We have a quick turnaround the following week as we play Northern Illinois under the lights on Thursday, November 5th. I have been fortunate that at my time in Louisville that we had a few short weeks and weekday games so this will not be new to me. The other advantage of having a weekday game is during that weekend while everyone else is traveling or playing, our staff will have the opportunity to recruit and catch some high school games within the Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Georgia and Florida areas.
The ground breaking of the new multipurpose indoor facility was held on October 20th . As much as I hated seeing a shovel dug into the practice fields that we have been using twice a week, I can’t wait until we open the facility. Imagine an additional 3 months of player development!
Although we are disappointed with the result of our games thus far you wouldn’t know it if you came to practice. The intensity, enthusiasm, and effort continues to improve. I have no reason to believe we will not build a program here that you can all be proud of.
Again, I have experience being a part of two turnarounds – one as a player and one as a coach. It is important to continue to move forward and not become distracted by the circumstances. Everyone must and will continue to improve.
Thank you to those who have taken their time to stop by and say hello or catch a game or practice.
Ron English
Head Football Coach
Eastern Michigan University
"EMBRACE THE PROCESS"