Eagles Hold 2008 Football Media Day
Aug. 15, 2008
JEFFERSON CITY ¬- Ken Sparks and his 2008 football team were introduced to the public Friday as Carson-Newman held its annual Media Day at Burke-Tarr Stadium.
Sparks enjoyed lunch with those in attendance, then spent over a half-hour previewing the upcoming season and fielding questions.
Carson-Newman returns 18 starters from a squad that went 10-1 in 2007. The Eagles shared the South Atlantic Conference title but were left out of the NCAA Division II playoffs.
"We are excited about the attitude of this group," Sparks said. "We have a lot of guys who have picked up very well where they left off. I'm very pleased with the level of commitment and the way this group has responded."
Several media organizations were on-hand for the event, including: The Standard Banner, The Citizen Tribune, The Knoxville News Sentinel, WBIR Channel 10, WVLT Channel 8, and WATE Channel 6.
Carson-Newman held an early-morning scrimmage prior to the Media Day, and Sparks was pleased with some of the things he saw out of his squad. It was the Eagles' first organized intra-squad workout of the fall.
"We went 104 plays, and with the exception of an injury or two, we had a good response," Sparks noted. "We had a lot of things happen that we are excited about."
Sparks said the team hasn't mentioned last season's playoff snub this fall, and that the only way to avoid a repeat scenario in 2008 is to take care of business on the field.
"We talked about it a little in the spring," Sparks said, referring to the Eagles' theme for spring practice of `Leave no doubt'.
"But we haven't mentioned it once this fall. That's in the past, and there is nothing we can do about it. Hopefully we can learn from the past and make some good things out of that."
"If you think about it, though, we lost a ball game. And if you lose a ball game, you might not get to where you want to get to. We have to accept some responsibility, too."
Senior All-Conference defensive back Denares Waites agreed that the past has no bearing on this season, but admitted that it is certainly added motivation for this year's team to strive for even higher goals.
"It makes you wonder, what might have been," Waites said about being left out of the playoffs. "We can't look at it like we got the short end of the stick, though. We just have to take the opportunities we are given and run with them. It's up to us to make it positive and do this season what we were unable to last year."
The Eagles will begin the season ranked No. 6 in the country, according to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Poll released late Monday. Carson-Newman earned 466 votes in the poll, including two first-place votes.
"I need to send those two people a card," Sparks laughed Friday. "Preseason polls don't mean much. The only ones that matter are those at the end of the season."
Carson-Newman has two more scrimmages scheduled this preseason, including one tomorrow night beginning at 6 p.m. in Burke-Tarr Stadium.
The Eagles will scrimmage for the final time on Tuesday at 7 p.m. as part of the school's "Community Sampler." The event will begin at 5 p.m. in Holt Fieldhouse, followed by the Lady Eagles exhibition soccer match with Tennessee Tech at 6 p.m. at MCCown Field.
The Carson-Newman football team will take Thursday (Aug. 21) off to begin its "game week" schedule and preparation. The Eagles open the season on August 28 at Concord (W.Va.).
"You can image how much in a bind we are, time wise, getting ready to play a football game," said Sparks. The team has been on campus less than two weeks.
