all right perfect well I guess I can open it up yeah unless you want to open well just great obviously uh great win for our guys obviously sitting there at 7 s at halftime held the ball for 23 minutes in the first half only had seven points lot of self-inflicted wounds uh had a few injuries to start the game with uh we didn't play as well as we needed to but really proud of uh just guys coming out after half obviously the game es and flow certainly wasn't exactly the way we envisioned the second half we had a couple you know quick three and outs right there uh defense was battling keeping us in the game and obviously great seeing the turnovers uh when you get in the turnovers like that obviously the one uh down here and obviously the one you know that stemy picked off there and um got to keep working on his ball security too um but it was a great finish you know I think it was great for the offensive line knowing that you know everybody in the building knows that you're going to run the football um those guys did a great job of you know very very physical there uh in those last uh couple two or three runs uh to finish that deal off there so great win we got a lot to work on though um you know we we're going to enjoy it but we're going to be back hard at work here uh first thing in the morning what do you think allowed that offense to really open up especially later in that second half uh no I think it was all there you know some of the unar obviously it was unfortunate there early got a drive going and you we had an RPO that we had a decision by Kaden to throw the pre- snap access to the boundary to cam pick it really did a good job just cam obviously didn't catch it clean bobbled it and picked six that's you know was a bang bang play and um so I think some of the things that we shut ourselves in the foot on um you know certainly can't happen obviously we had a block field goal there you look at the TR trajectory of the kick on the the um you know iPad there uh s on the tablets on the sideline certainly you can see it right away there in real time that the trajectory of it was a little bit low cuz um you know the defender didn't really have to leave his feet so I just think it was you know just kept battling uh there's been a lot of good work put in here um you it was great see that many different guys get their hands on the ball in the passing game when you look at 7665 and you know obviously great to see Braden with that last 40 yard run there get himself over a 100 um the offensive line you know was was really good down the stretch uh when we needed to have him the most and you know certainly that third down uh they did a great job in protection was a little double move um you know Tanner trying to sell blocking on the screen and slipping up the sideline so it was good um for those guys to finish it off and I know you talked about defense what were you impressed with the most on the it was awesome in the first half I hadn't quite seen a first half like that you know to be honest with you I think they had 14 or 16 plays I can't remember which it was uh there in the first half so it was a good job that way obviously we knew this is a good team I I told their coach that after the football game they're they're a good football team I have they've had a couple of games there that you know told them keep their chin up keep fighting cuz um they're a good team man and and we knew that when we were preparing for them on tape a lot of ways they remind you of another Max Mac team that um they're pretty St pretty strong um they got good Playmakers uh they've done a good job in the transfer portal uh as well so um just it's a four quarter game I'm proud most importantly of you know finishing down the stretch we had an opportunity to finish and uh we were able to finish I know we talked about that home crowd on Monday just yeah I'm glad you mentioned that I was the student crowd the student section over there was awesome uh every every second during the game when I caught myself peeking up like man stay in there with us stay in there with us so it was awesome it was a great day it was a great crowd we need them uh you know there's nothing better than that I'm I'm most excited coming out to start the game I appreciate the kids that were there the M um Southside kids that were lined up over there and to give those guys a high five I recognize some of those guys my son's played with some of them and I really love seeing those guys there that that really is uplifting to me um cuz really it's all about the kids at the end of the day first time starting off the season 1 and0 since 2021 how big of a step is it to start off the season yeah I mean obviously you only get so many um you want to make them all count um been a long time since we played football we had to be patient I know there were some teams that kicked off the noon game today to start game number three and we still hadn't kicked off yet for game number one so it tests your patience um but man I'm just glad it's a win uh obviously it's great to go attack some of the things you need to clean up on tape uh after a win so you know told the guys that tonight but man we'll be back at it tomorrow morning starting with treatment taking care of ourselves and um really start to attack the tape and and be real with each other yeah um on that note with treatment you had Justin Bock out for this game and then Ty Robinson got on the very first place so like status update for those guys yeah listen it's gut-wrenching on Justin Bock one week ago today he suffered a um an injury in practice suffered a kidney injury in practice and uh uh most routine play I've ever seen in practice so I don't really know how long that Justin will be out um he was with us on the sideline and in um you know travel uh gear not dressed out so um he's got an appointment middle of the week here and um hopefully we can learn some more about his status Ty got hurt on the first play of the game there with a shoulder um again till tomorrow or Monday when and when you know obviously he can get a chance to see the dock let's hope it's not long you know Tai's Tai missed 10 games last year after being injured in that Georgia game so um I know how hard he's worked to get himself back and to build his confidence and and obviously Trey Firestone went out he got rolled up on uh m Miss Webster went out with a shoulder um injury were part of it it's unfortunate but that's the game that we play and told the guys in there I mean you got to be ready when your numbers called don't get caught slipping don't get caught being unprepared that's a bad bad feeling cuz you're only your opportunity only may may only present itself one time and you got to make sure if you're backup or a third guy on the dep chart you got to be locked in and ready to go um what did you what did you see from the backup receivers Gilly and pick it that you really like yeah obviously they made some plays you know it was a huge play by Malcolm Gilly there um you know he caught a slant um and and the run after catch there was was all effort was all toughness it was great balance so it was great to see him do that cam picket you know he missed all last season um with an injury um you know he had he had um you know a hip injury last year that that forced him to miss the entire season so I know how hard cam has worked um his first college football action pretty awesome he did a lot of really positive things it's nice to see Cam's pick at speed show up that's something that you know you work hard in recruiting to build some speed and and then you know last year the speed that that he brings to the table wasn't able to be out there so it was it was a great job by him just working tirelessly with our training staff and um just being positive you know it's it's it's hard to stare at the same four walls in the training room and and um you know not get a little down so it was a great job by him staying positive and just working your guys' defense is obviously pretty new this year a lot of new pieces in week one you know they played pretty well what does that say kind of about the progress they've showed especially in the last few weeks yeah I think for them together to be able to finally get on the field together because there's you know on the defensive side of the ball for us if you just look at the roster there's the most new faces on the defensive side of the ball we graduated a lot of guys a year ago lost a couple young men to the transfer portal so the most new faces were on the defensive side of the ball you practice a lot but until you get a chance to get on the field together and and see how the communication go see how guys do a good job of you know bouncing back from adversity a lot of positive things to build on totally you know two different half here to some degree but that's why we get a chance to watch the tape after a win and you know let's go attack our weaknesses and get better season with so much change what does this win mean to you personally there's nothing better than that locker room when you work your butt off uh all off seon sorry about the excitement level uh but when you work your butt off man all offseason and you believe wholeheartedly in your process and how you put schedules together to try to help develop the guys our strength and conditioning staff has done a phenomenal job man I just I savor every second you get a chance to sing the fight song there's nothing better than doing that with with guys that you love and U guys that love each other and and lay it on the line for one another and you know you you only have so many of these so you know for me it's it's we're Team One 100 so starting out one and0 was really important you guys sideline last week you watching they play a pretty good game against Montana know how important was it uh for you guys this week to set the tone also it's your only uh home non-conference game right uh I mean obviously we knew watching the tape from last year and then again reinforced everything we saw from a year ago when we watched him play Montana last Saturday night it's a good team a really good football team obviously they had a couple turnovers today um so we knew that we were going to be in for a dog fight you know nobody took uh anybody lightly nobody just because they say they're an FCS program they're they're they're on their way obviously next year to Conference USA so really good football team we knew we had to go out and execute and do our job and uh play with the best effort we got for four quarters um because we knew we knew it was going to be a dog fight and our guys at the end of the day persevered made enough plays when they needed to to to get the win yeah and then you saw a lot of play making in the second half the defense wasn't but you know seeing how suffocating they were um in that first half what kind of potential you think that demonstr yeah that was awesome again the first half there was was uh you know not don't know if I've quite seen a first half like that so they really did a good job that way and now we got a the goal is is to make sure we put two halves together you know you want to execute all the time no matter what it is you're doing offense defense special teams and we'll be back hard at it again now we got a tape of besides practice tape we got some tape to watch of us in the game and you know who could handle the bright lights uh and who who needs to continue to work and again just preaching to the guys man just be ready uh when your numbers called because we had some injuries today and and guys got to be ready um as we head into this week to to see how those some of those injuries shake out and how long they might be 100 seasons for Ball State football uh what kind of motivation or impa do you think that brings to a team especially with uh first game being at home yeah there's only one team 100 none of us will be alive for team 200 so just simply trying to do the best we can to make it count man there's a lot of guys that put on a Ball State uniform before us um that that take a lot of pride in this program and it's a great responsibility that we have to wear that name on our chest uh and to have that helmet on we want to make sure we make those guys uh that played before us proud make the The Ball State alums all across the country proud and obviously they're going to be tuned in CU it's a milestone so we got to make sure we do our part uh to make it count all right coach new thank you we've got three players coming up thank you guys then we'll go with Braden and Kaden miles I know we talked about that injury and Camp here what does it mean to you to be back on the field today playing at the level you did um it was special you know um you know first couple drives I was nervous you know first game in the year um but it felt great to get back out there and play you know it wasn't my best game but it's a good game to come back from and then you held uh then to the first half just negative 11 rushing yards as a defense how much pride do you guys take in that we take a lot of pride in that um you know as a defense you don't want to get over 50 yards rushing you know and for us to be like that at the beginning it was amazing um Missouri State didn't convert a third down in the first half and they only went three for 10 for the game you talk about sort of the defense turning it up on third down a lot especially you you had a nice hit at the line of scrimmage and a good pass break up on third down oh yeah third down you know third down is Mone down you know that's the time to get off the field you know we we want to get the ball back to our defense I mean back to our offense I'm sorry you know all game but yeah we take prior to third down um every every week so it was it was good it was a good first half you guys are a pretty new defensive group are you kind of surprised how well you guys started off the game yeah I am actually you know it's 11 new fa well 10 new faces out there all starting you know that was my first game stared um so it's pretty good that we start off like that especially that's our first game of the season you know everybody else is like a game or two of of us so it was a good start to you does that excite you for maybe the potential this defense has going forward for sure you know um this first game like I said you know a lot of jitters um real Rusty real Rusty but you know we got this week to get ready for Miami and we got to give our all gu what improvements would you like to see from the defense U our tackling got to be better especially me um I miss too many tackles um then I got to get rid of the P call but honestly we just got to play defense right you know we had some mental errors um I had some mental errors missed assignments but you know first game so we going to get right this week and get right from Miami first game at home and having the crowd out there it seemed like a lot of your players um you know were really energetic throughout the game especially with some of those big special team plays um you know how what did that say to you uh the energy that you seeing from your fellow players um that this team could be special you know it's team 100 um everybody's bought into each other we all love each other like we're brothers so it's going to be a great year and especially in the first half you guys exerted a lot of pressure you know from the front four and and Udo as well um forcing uh the quarterback in tough spots and getting a couple hits on him um what do you think that says about the pressure you guys were able to exert especially first um our dline they're great honestly um they got back there almost every time um then with the Bliss pressure it was pretty great um you know it was easier for me to see what's actually going on reading quarterback and reading receivers and stuff like that so I feel like the pressure it was it was pretty good today I know you worked for a full year in your rehab process to get back and everything was it a little bit surreal to be back on the field you know taking those live reps yeah it it was it was crazy I ain't going to lie first first play I was nervous like nervous because taking a whole year off of football especially division one football it's it's crazy you know it's a fast speed game and yeah it was crazy that's it we good appreciate it thanks man appreciate it awesome TF you guys want welcome go ahead fellas yeah so BR like uh like you said uh your Ball State debut today what's it like to score twice in that first game year you know it's awesome just U being able to get the opportunity to you know play and then get in the end zone you know all the guys excited for me and everything and everybody's just you know I get to the sideline like welcome to boss they wel on the boss you know that's just a real good feeling cuz you know making my decision you know I felt like this was a real family fi place and you know that just really solidified it just getting in the end zone and everybody being excited for me and you know I was just you know real happy about that what was going through your head when you have that break break away for your TCH down yeah uh on the sideline before we had talked about it you know maybe if you break away to go down or not then it was kind of like maybe not in that situation cuz score you go up two possessions so still broke away you know it's still in the back of my mind like should I go down should I not go down but I was like n we're here now he might as well go ahead and finish it off so and I went ahead and went ahead and scored and you know that was that was another another big big thing shout out to the offensive line they they did their thing today and opened up gaps and everything for me and and you know protected Kaden real well um you know big shout out to the to the offensive line what have you really you know taken from them I know obviously they have 117 combine starts but what you like working with them you know it's awesome just the experience that they have and you know I I've played a couple games I I you know not 117 but I've been in a couple games so really just experience that we kind of both uh bring and and things that um as we continue to go throughout the season that that we can work on and kind of just as we all continue to mes together you know I think it's going to be a real real special year um in the Run game kind of leading up to this game with the new team and everything just what were your what were your emotions at you know pregame you know just uh different everything was different uh just trying to get used to how you handle the business and from the hotel to what's the pregame warmup like and everything you know just really try not to let that be a distraction to me and just you know take it as it goes and you know obviously just thinking about uh how you how it used to be at my old school you know what I'm saying like just the routine and everything how I had my routine down and stuff but really like I said just kind of taking it as it comes and and filling out my new routine I know you guys have been practicing for a while obviously but what's one thing that maybe you learned from this game that you didn't really see before um that we we don't we don't give up you know we going we G to fight for for 60 Minutes every every time uh you don't get a lot of that in practice because you you know you can only do so much situational stuff and you know uh going up against offense and defense you can't really tell how people are going to respond when you know you get hit in the mouth or you you get you get down but you know we we went down there for a little bit and we came back and responded and especially in that second half we came out on fire and you know really got it got it going you guys have a lot of new guys you know on the team or new position just doing that um what is a win like this especially week one at home due for the momentum going forward oh it brings a lot of momentum just just like you said a lot of new guys so you know during these past 40 days or however long it's been since report day um just kind of getting to know how people play on the field and like I said practice is only you know so much and then when you get in the game and you see these guys how they respond and how they play and you know they're going they're going to give it all for you so you got to give it all for them and that's that's a big thing that um for for me and I'm sure for for everybody just seeing that it's just going to be a real big momentum shift for us and and keep us propelling forward and in your debut game for B State and receiving a majority of the touches you know I don't know what expectations were going in but you have to imagine they'd be eclipsed after you know over 100 yards rushing and two touchdowns what were your expectations for yourself going into this game you know we did uh we fit out this little goal sheet and uh my main goal was just take advantage of the opportunities that come to me whatever that may be wh if it's running you know catching the ball blocking whatever it is and um you know that was that was just the big thing for me whether it was one carry or 50 carries I just wanted to take advantage of of of the opportunities that I have and make the most of them and how excited are you to work with that better an offensive line uh for the rest of the season do you think uh that you know production at this level could be expected yeah I'm super super excited um you know like like we keep saying about camp and everything you know you get to see these guys and start to mess with them and then getting to go out on the field and play somebody else and really see um you know how they get how they get off blocks and Combos and stuff and work their way up to the second level and for me to get my reads and everything off that is was real big just the the ability that we got to play somebody else and see that and now you know work work from that and continue to build on that new talked about that locker room energy uh after a win just can you describe to me what that feels like for you you know it's awesome I never uh like after even after on the field when we sung the fight on I had never did anything like that and I thought that was pretty cool then just in the locker room you know it's hard to win at at really any level of football and especially the division one level and um you know just to come out come out with a win is very special and then we get in the to locker room you know you got the music going people dancing and everything it's just just really exciting cuz like I said it's it's hard to win and you know I'm just glad that we got that that first one final question for Braden all right we're great Kaden sza on De appreciate appr Mr sza fire away folks thank you Ken it's been almost a year since you led Ball State at home as a new starter uh what do it what it feel like to do it again it was just a real feeling for sure I mean I got to give thanks to my Lord Savior Jesus Christ I mean it's been a long time coming you know I'm sure everyone who's played a game and been away from it for some time knows kind of how that feels coming back from such a long time off after you know from in my situation was being a red shirt so um to get that first one under my belt man it felt good and I'm excited to keep going you had that interception early but obviously bounced back uh what do you think in your head made you switch that mentality so quick really the thing was you know just put it right behind us I mean at the end of the day it wasn't nothing they did special you know we had a miscommunication on our end and we shot ourselves in the foot so we didn't blink and we had to keep playing that's what we did proud of the guys when that offense was rolling what did that chemistry feel like as the as a team it feels good I mean that's towards the end of the game you guys kind of saw Spurs what we can be you know I feel like it was unfortunate we didn't come out starting a game like that and we we'll get that fixed but I mean at the end of the day um it was good to see at the end of the game when it really mattered you know our guys showed up 15 yard rush uh in the first quarter to put the cards on the board what did you say to the guys on the sideline in order to build on upon that momentum just keep going like we always say keep going keep your head up defense had our back that whole first half it was bad time we got there so I told them reminded them keep doing your thing we got your back and we're going to be all right and speaking of that defense it was kind of a game of halves the defense kind of carried in the first half and then the offense really started rolling in the second how important was it to see the the defense out there holding it down for you the first I mean it it's what kept us in the game you know um you know if they don't do that if they don't do what they do in the first half you know who knows what the outcome of the game is so you know like Keon kept telling me you know we got your back and I kept reminding him we gonna get yours I promise you so it was good to see that kind of that jail together you know so proud of those guys for sure such a new team you're a new starter obviously kind of what ises a win like this especially at home week one doe for momentum going forward I mean it's everything like like like Braden was just saying minut go winning is not easy you no matter who you played that was a good football team out there today um so from here we're going to build on this like you were saying and uh we're going carry it over to Miami it's going to be you know I haven't watched film yet but I'm it's not going to be no dog walk right those guys are going to come out there think they're going to beat us up nobody outside of our locker room believes in us you know so taking this seeing what we're all about had a little adversity today we saw how guys faced it so I'm I love the group of guys got and I'm excited to keep this season rolling yeah you were without your top two receivers today with Justin getting hurt in practice and then Tai getting going down on the very first play of scrimmage but can you talk about cam picket Malcolm Gilly really stepping up and helping you out man those I told Malcolm you know towards the end of the game I said you are the sole reason for the juice in this game um he had the huge slant took it to the house I mean that's that's really what what started us going um remind I mean they they're both amazing players and um it was great to see them their opportunities today and them take advantage of of it and ball out like I know they could you know we always got the same you know next play or next minut up excuse me mindset so you know I wasn't you know of course Ty and and jbo are phenomenal players sucks to have them you know down and and out so early um but at the end of the day I knew Cam and Malcolm we're going to be all right those guys are ballers and they they did what they do today are you in keante regularly communicating throughout a game uh yeah I'd say so um like I was telling you earlier I got your back you got mine cheering each other on all that kind of stuff so for sure how important is that relationship on the other side of the ball I think it's great you know I got a I got a whole you know defense behind me you know no matter what happens if I make a mistake if I do something good so at the end of the day I feels great coming to the sideline whether it was good or bad and they got my back and then with health communication today I know I saw signs on the sideline but I'm just wasn't sure just how did everything go with that it was smooth I thought it was pretty cool like I was telling somebody the other day if I was like I'm in the NFL it's pretty cool um got a little out there I had to give a little cover um but it it was it was good nothing nothing out of the blue just like we practice so it was all good and despite that early pick I mean you were highly efficient throughout the rest of the game with over 70% completion rate how comfortable were you behind that better offensive line that we talked so much about and those guys make it easy man I mean who knows what you know we do without those guys up front I mean they they're pretty much the reason we won that game I mean at the end of the game when we really needed it you know some Smashmouth football those guys took care of business and we we popped one and ended up winning the game so uh I make sure those guys know that I'm very appreciative of them so that's for sure all right God you guys are easy appreciate you guys thank you an easy day nice job thank you