Daily News Lembo Interview - Aug. 21 from Ball State Student Media on Vimeo.
With the sun beating down on Scheumann Stadium Tuesday afternoon, Ball State couldn't ask for better weather on its first day of practice.
And after having nearly 48 hours in between practices, this also gave coach Pete Lembo's players a chance to come back to practice fresh. Lembo said the result of the day off allowed his team to have a first day of practice.
"It was very smooth today, I thought practice had a good tempo to it," Lembo said. "It always takes the freshmen a little bit of time to get used to the scout periods--the detail that we expect and the intensity that we expect in those periods. I thought our guys came out very focused today. It was a business-like approach today."
The practice marked the team's shift of attention to installing the game plan against Eastern Michigan in the season opener on Aug. 30. It was the first day that the offense and defense went up against scout teams modeled after what the team will see against the Eagles. The scout teams were made up of the third string players on Ball State's roster and were only used for 15 minutes in Tuesday's practice.
But the biggest difference between fall camp and game preparation practices is the players have to balance going to class as well as practice. In fall camp, the weeks leading up to the start of the fall semester, the team was working on football for the entire day. Now, the players are focused on classes, and Lembo has to manage more of his time that isn't being spent during practice.
"Imagine during preseason getting up in the morning, and from 7 a.m. until 10:30 at night it's all football," Lembo said. "We might mix in some player development meetings and academic work, but, for the most part, it's football 14 hours a day. Now the shift is on the flow of classes."
Lembo said he was pleased with the attitude from his team at practice with the business-like approach, and some of that could be attributed to the focus of linebacker Travis Freeman, who's entering his final preseason practices. Not only has he been focused, but he's been making sure the rest of the team has had the same mind set as him.
"That's what we're preaching the most is to stick to the same script," Freeman said. "Lock in when you get to the stadium, leave everything that happened outside the stadium. Handle your business, but at the same time prepare for the task at hand, and that's Eastern Michigan."
Freeman said he's been more focused because it is his final season but is also enjoying the time more than he normally would. He recognizes this season may be the final time he gets to play football and wants to get his teammates rejuvenated through his leadership.
The goal for the defense is to get better with fundamentals as well as fill in the holes left from last season's departing players. Freeman said he believes the defense is doing well in terms of getting better fundamentally but will improve by Aug. 30.
He also said with having the same defensive coordinator for a second consecutive season, which hasn't happened in his four years at Ball State, allows him and the defense to improve.
"It makes a tremendous amount of difference," he said. "Just knowing the system, knowing the scheme, not having to relearn something or having a new coach bringing something in, and you have to change your style of play. Once you get a good grasp on the defense, you can play faster and make plays and take chances."
Ball State has six more practices to prepare for Eastern Michigan, which will immediately set the tone for the season because of the Mid-American Conference match up. But between now and then, Lembo, Freeman and the rest of the football team will be focused on improving to start the season 1-0.
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